{"collection":"philosophy-ethics","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_64550/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_64550","id":"gutenberg_64550","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/64550","summary":null,"tags":["Animal behavior","Animal intelligence","Category: Philosophy & Ethics","Category: Science - Biology","Droseraceae","Natural history","Psychology, Comparative"],"text":"Transcriber\u2019s Notes\n\n  Text printed in italics has been transcribed _between underscores_.\n  Small capitals have been replaced with ALL CAPITALS.\n\n  More Transcriber\u2019s Notes may be found at the end of this text.\n\n\n[Illustration: Copyright 1900 by A. R. DUGMORE.\n\nSNAPPING-TURTLES FIGHTING.]\n\n\n\n\n  INTELLIGENCE\n  IN\n  PLANTS AND ANIMALS\n\n  BEING A NEW EDITION OF THE AUTHOR\u2019S\n  PRIVATELY ISSUED \u201cSOUL AND IMMORTALITY\u201d\n\n  BY\n  THOMAS G. GENTRY, Sc. D.\n\n  AUTHOR OF \u201cLIFE-HISTORIES OF BIRDS OF EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA,\u201d\n  \u201cTHE HOUSE SPARROW,\u201d \u201cNESTS AND EGGS OF BIRDS\n  OF THE UNITED STATES,\u201d ETC., ETC., ETC.\n\n\n  NEW YORK\n  DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & CO.\n  1900\n\n\n  Copyright 1900,\n  BY\n  DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & CO.\n\n\n  TO\n  ALL HUMAN BEINGS\n  WHO ARE GOOD AND KIND\n  TO THE HUMBLEST OF GOD\u2019S CREATURES\n  THIS VOLUME\n  IS MOST AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED\n  BY THE AUTHOR.\n\n\n  \u201cEvery beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand\n  hills.\n\n  \u201cI know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the\n  field are mine.\u201d--Psalm 1:10, 11.\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE.\n\n\nNothing is more charming to the mind of man than the study of Nature.\nReligion, moderation and magnanimity have been made a part of his\ninner being through her teachings, and the soul has been rescued by\nher influence from obscurity. No longer doth man grovel in the dust,\nseeking, animal-like, the gratification of low and base desires, as was\nhis wont, but on the wings of thought is enabled to soar to the very\ngates of Heaven and hold communion with God.\n\nThough made \u201ca little lower than the angels,\u201d yet, through the\nmighty play of forces that have been at work in the world, which we,\nin the latter half of this enlightened century, are just beginning\nto recognize and comprehend, he has been lifted from the mire of\ndegradation and placed upon a higher social, intellectual, moral\nand spiritual level. Out of the animal, in the scheme of Deity, the\nspiritual system of things is to be elaborated, and not the animal out\nof the spiritual. This natural world, so to speak, is the raw material\nof the spiritual. Therefore, ere man can understand the spiritual,\nhe must understand the natural. Though his knowledge was at first\nabout material things, or such as pertained to natural phenomena, yet\nfrom this through the ages has been builded, little by little, that\nmountain-height of knowledge, intellectual and moral, which, if rightly\ndirected, is to bring him into fellowship with Deity. \u201cAs we have borne\nthe image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly,\u201d\nor, Lord from heaven.\n\nWhen is considered, therefore, the immense good which the study and\ninvestigation of nature have accomplished, it is not at all surprising\nthat the literature on the subject should be markedly in the ascendant.\nNatural science bids fair to be in a pre\u00ebminent degree the pursuit of\nthe coming man. There is no end to the books that have been written\nupon the subject during the past few decades, if not by specialists,\nbut by men and women who have been well informed and who have made\nthemselves fully capable of contemplating understandingly the world\nwhich lies about them.\n\nOur libraries are to-day quite affluent in books that are the handmaids\nof natural science. Michelet and Hugh Miller, in their day, opened\nglorious new worlds before a rising generation, and that generation is\nnow doing excellent work under the inspiration of the impetus which it\nthen received. Tait, Balfour Stewart, Dawson, Gray, McCook, Thompson,\nScudder, Mrs. Treat, Olive Thorne Miller and others have done much\nto continue the interest, pleasure and enthusiasm awakened by those\nearlier writers, and even Darwin and Huxley themselves, in detailing\ntheir experiments, have not scorned to bring their thoughts within the\nrange of narrower minds.\n\nBut in the popularization of natural science no man has done more than\nRev. J. G. Wood in his numerous works. Not only have his writings\ncreated in thousands a taste for nature-studies, but they have been no\nless the means of cultivating the observation, awakening enthusiasm\nand directing effort in the lines of original research and discovery.\nCertainly no one, as his many writings so abundantly attest, possessed\na larger fund of knowledge concerning the powers and capabilities of\nthe lower animals than this author. Few knew our domestic animals\nbetter than he, and none was more capable of judging of the mental\nand moral _status_ which they should occupy in the world of animals.\nIt is true that men and women, eminent in theology, literature and\nscience, had expressed a belief in the idea that the \u201clatent powers and\ncapacities\u201d of the lower animals might be developed in a future life,\nbut no one had felt secure enough in this belief to warrant more than a\npassing thought or two upon the subject.\n\nBishop Butler, in his \u201cAnalogy of Religion,\u201d undoubtedly believed\nthe lower animals capable of a future life. In speaking of them in\nthis connection in the opening of his work, he says: \u201cIt is said\nthese observations are equally applicable to brutes; and it is\nthought an insuperable difficulty that they should be immortal, and\nby consequence capable of everlasting happiness. And this manner of\nexpression is both invidious and weak; but the thing intended by\nit is really no difficulty at all, either in the way of natural or\nmoral consideration.\u201d Referring then to the undeveloped powers and\ncapacities of the so-called brutes, the Bishop could perceive no reason\nwhy they should not attain their development in an existence beyond\nthe earth-life. It was in pursuance of this same train of thought that\nRev. J. G. Wood was led to show in a work, entitled \u201cMan and Beast\nHere and Hereafter,\u201d that the lower animals do possess those mental\nand moral characteristics--the attributes of reason, language, memory,\nmoral responsibility, unselfishness and love--which we admit in man\nas belonging to the immortal spirit, rather than to the perishable\nbody. Having previously cleared away the difficulties which certain\npassages in the Old Testament seemingly interposed, and proved that\nthe Scriptures do not deny futurity of life to lower animals, he very\nnaturally concluded that as man expects to retain these qualities in\nthe future life there is every reason to suppose that they may share\nhis immortality in the Hereafter as in the Now they are partakers of\nhis mortal nature.\n\nFew minds, unswayed by thoughts materialistic, can study the living\nworks of God, whether vegetal or animal, and fail to be convinced that\nthey, as living exponents of Divine conceptions, are as needful in the\nworld of spirit as in the world of matter. While many are disposed to\nbelieve that man will share the future life with beast, bird, insect\nand such like, yet but few, if any, can be found who believe that\ntree and shrub and flower will be there to continue the life begun on\nearth and reach out to higher and fuller development. In announcing\nthis belief, the author but expresses a conviction as deep as any that\ncould occupy a human mind. The possession of soul and spirit can be\npredicated no less of plants than of man and the lower animals. They\nhave all one breath or life and one spirit, and as such are living\nsouls, living, breathing frames or bodies of life. From being living,\nbreathing frames, and endowed with the same life and spirit as man and\nthe lower animals, they have all one destiny, for \u201call go unto one\nplace; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.\u201d But of the new\nlife which Christ came down to earth to proffer to man that he might\ninherit the kingdom of God. While to man it was only offered, and had\nfor its purpose the uplifting and improvement of his earth-life by\nthe promise of something higher and better to those who are accounted\nworthy, yet there can be no doubt that it was equally intended through\nhis uplifting to place all the creatures of the earth over which he\nwas given dominion by God upon a more elevated and nobler plane, so\nthat those which had been profited in the earth-life by his beneficent\ninfluence should become partakers with him in the new life, when Christ\nshall \u201ctransfigure the body of our humiliation, that it may become\nof like form with the body of His glory, by the power of that which\nenables Him even to subdue all things to Himself.\u201d As all existence\nis a unit, which the author has taken especial pains through the body\nof this book to impress upon the minds of his readers, it can hardly\nbe conceived that an all-wise God, who is infinite in love, mercy and\njustice, would look to the preservation in a future state of but a very\nsmall part of the life which He has been instrumental in placing upon\nthis earth. It would be more consistent with His attributes, and with\nthe scheme of development of life upon our planet, whereby life has\nbeen progressive, the fittest only being allowed to survive, to have\nprovided in the grand plan of redemption, not merely the salvation of\nthe highest of earth-life, but of all life, the purest and the best,\nthat would represent in the heaven-life, in spiritualized form, the\nhighest living exponents of Divine ideas. No other belief accords so\nwell with the teachings of science and philosophy. In its acceptance,\nfor it makes all life related to the Divine life, can there be any hope\nof escape from materialism, that curse of the age.\n\n  THOMAS G. GENTRY, SC. D.\n\n  PHILADELPHIA, FEBRUARY 28, 1897.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\n                                                                    PAGE\n\n  Preface                                                              1\n\n  Life and Its Conditions                                              9\n\n  Plants that Feed on Insects                                         16\n\n  Slime-Animals                                                       32\n\n  Primitive Lasso-Throwers                                            36\n\n  Five-Fingered Jack on the Oyster                                    41\n\n  Earth-worms in History                                              48\n\n  Fiddler-and Hermit-Crabs                                            70\n\n  Funnel-Web Builder                                                  77\n\n  Book-Lovers                                                         86\n\n  You-ee-up                                                           90\n\n  Tower-Building Cicada                                               95\n\n  Honey-Dew                                                          104\n\n  Milch-Cows of the Ants                                             108\n\n  Living Artillery                                                   111\n\n  Bright and Shining Ones                                            115\n\n  Queen of American Silk-Spinners                                    121\n\n  Basket-Carriers                                                    126\n\n  Honey-Producing Caterpillars                                       132\n\n  Hibernating Butterflies                                            144\n\n  Leaf-Cutter Bee                                                    149\n\n  Battle Between Ants                                                153\n\n  Nest-Building Fishes                                               158\n\n  Slippery as an Eel                                                 168\n\n  Rana and Bufo                                                      174\n\n  Our Natural Enemies                                                186\n\n  House-Bearing Reptiles                                             198\n\n  Summer Duck                                                        204\n\n  American Woodcock                                                  210\n\n  Piping Plover                                                      218\n\n  Bob White                                                          222\n\n  Ruffed Grouse                                                      230\n\n  An Old Acquaintance                                                240\n\n  American Osprey                                                    245\n\n  Turkey Buzzard                                                     252\n\n  Rare and Curious Nests                                             263\n\n  Strange Friendship                                                 279\n\n  Nature\u2019s Little Store-Keeper                                       285\n\n  Canine Sagacity                                                    290\n\n  Feline Intelligence                                                295\n\n  Bright Little Cebidae                                              301\n\n  Untutored Man                                                      309\n\n  Living Souls                                                       316\n\n  Consciousness in Plants                                            323\n\n  Mind in Animals                                                    344\n\n  Life Progressive                                                   404\n\n  Survival of the Fittest                                            426\n\n  Man\u2019s Pre\u00ebminence                                                  469\n\n  Future Life                                                        479\n\n\n\n\nLIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.\n\n\n                                                                    PAGE\n\n   1 Portrait of Author                                     Frontispiece\n   2 Venus\u2019s Fly-trap                                                 20\n   3 Round-Leaved Sundew                                              25\n   4 Protomyxa Feeding                                                34\n   5 Fresh-Water Hydra                                                37\n   6 Star-fish Opening an Oyster                                      45\n   7 Common Earth-worms                                               60\n   8 Fiddler-Crabs                                                    72\n   9 Warty Hermit-Crabs                                               75\n\n  10 Agalena and Her Funnel-Web                                       79\n\n  11 Lepismas at Work                                                 88\n\n  12 You-ee-up in His Den                                             91\n\n  13 Seventeen-year Cicada                                            97\n\n  14 New-born Cicada                                                  99\n\n  15 Dome-like House of Cicada                                       101\n\n  16 Blossom of Cucurbita                                            105\n\n  17 Nest of Lasius                                                  109\n\n  18 Brachinus Pursued by an Enemy                                   112\n\n  19 Common Tiger Beetle                                             117\n\n  20 American Luna Moth                                              123\n\n  21 House-builder Moth                                              129\n\n  22 Pseudargiolus Butterfly                                         134\n\n  23 Violacea Butterfly                                              138\n\n  24 Neglecta Butterfly                                              142\n\n  25 Mourning-Cloak Butterfly                                        146\n\n  26 Leaf-Cutter Bee at Work                                         150\n\n  27 Battle Between Ants                                             154\n\n  28 Nest of Common Sun-fish                                         159\n\n  29 Black-nosed Dace                                                163\n\n  30 Common American Eel                                             172\n\n  31 Rana Clamata, or Green Frog                                     177\n\n  32 Common American Toad                                            181\n\n  33 Northern Rattlesnake                                            189\n\n  34 Mother Black Snake                                              192\n\n  35 Summer Green Snake                                              195\n\n  36 Water Snake                                                     196\n\n  37 Common Box Tortoise                                             201\n\n  38 Summer Ducks and Young                                          206\n\n  39 American Woodcock                                               214\n\n  40 Female Piping Plover                                            220\n\n  41 Home of Bob White                                               225\n\n  42 Ruffed Grouse in Spring-time                                    235\n\n  43 Mexican Wild Turkey                                             241\n\n  44 Nest of American Osprey                                         247\n\n  45 Female Turkey Buzzard Dining                                    259\n\n  46 Nest of the Robin                                               264\n\n  47 Red-winged Blackbird\u2019s Nest                                     266\n\n  48 Double Nest of Orchard Oriole                                   268\n\n  49 Female Baltimore Oriole                                         270\n\n  50 Acadian Flycatchers                                             272\n\n  51 Long-billed Marsh Wrens                                         274\n\n  52 Golden-Crowned Kinglets                                         275\n\n  53 Lace Hammock of Parula Warbler                                  276\n\n  54 Three-story Nest of Yellow Warbler                              278\n\n  55 Saw-whet Owl and Chickaree Squirrel                             282\n\n  56 Hackee, or Chipping Squirrel                                    287\n\n  57 My Dog Frisky                                                   292\n\n  58 Tom on Duty                                                     297\n\n  59 Jack at Dinner                                                  305\n\n  60 Australian at Home                                              311\n\n  61 Representative Life of Western Asia                             319\n\n  62 Seedling of Winter Grape                                        325\n\n  63 Tip of Radicle of Seedling Maple                                331\n\n  64 Wonderful Equine Intelligence                                   347\n\n  65 Papier-Mach\u00e9 Palace of the Hornet                               353\n\n  66 Unsolicited and Unlooked-for Kindness                           357\n\n  67 Exhibition of Grandeur                                          378\n\n  68 Four Orphaned Robins                                            389\n\n  69 Mated for Life                                                  396\n\n  70 Evidence of Conjugal Affection                                  400\n\n  71 Life in the Primordial Sea                                      410\n\n  72 Carboniferous Times                                             412\n\n  73 Mesozoic Flora and Fauna                                        415\n\n  74 Pal\u00e6olithic Men Attacking Cave Bear                             448\n\n  75 Era of Mind and Heart                                           462\n\n\n\n\nFULL PAGE PLATES.\n\nFrom Photographs from Nature by A. RADCLYFFE DUGMORE.\n\n\n  1 Snapping Turtles Fighting                               Frontispiece\n\n                                                             FACING PAGE\n\n  2 Crab Waiting for Food Under a Rock                                74\n\n  3 Box-tortoise Feeding on Fungus                                   200\n\n  4 Woodcock on Nest (showing protective coloring)                   212\n\n  5 Red-eyed Vireo\u2019s Two-Storied Nest With Cow-bird\u2019s egg beneath    264\n\n  6 Long-billed Marsh Wren\u2019s Nest                                    272\n\n  7 Chipping Squirrels Feeding                                       286\n\n  8 Wood Thrush Setting                                              402\n\n\n\n\nLIFE AND IMMORTALITY.\n\n\n\n\nLIFE AND ITS CONDITIONS.\n\n\nAll natural objects, roughly divided, arrange themselves into three\ngroups, constituting the so-called Mineral, Vegetable and Animal\nkingdoms. Mineral bodies are all devoid of life. They consist of\neither a single element, or, if combined, occur in nature in the form\nof simple compounds, composed of more than two or three elements.\nThey are homogeneous in texture, or, when unmixed, formed of similar\nparticles which have no definite relations to one another. In form they\nare either altogether indefinite, when they are said to be amorphous,\nor have a definite shape, called crystalline, in which case they\nare ordinarily bounded by plane surfaces and straight lines. When\nmineral bodies increase in size, as crystals may do, the increase is\nproduced simply by accretion. They exhibit purely physical and chemical\nphenomena, and show no tendency to periodic changes of any kind.\nFossils or petrifactions, which owe their existence and characters to\nbeings which lived in former periods of the earth\u2019s history, cannot,\nthough made up of mineral matter, be properly said to belong to the\nmineral kingdom.\n\nBut objects belonging to the vegetable and animal kingdoms differ\nmarkedly from inert, lifeless, mineral matter. Carbon, hydrogen, oxygen\nand nitrogen are the most important of the few chemical elements which\nenter into their composition, and these elements are combined into\ncomplex organic compounds, which always contain a large percentage of\nwater, are very unstable, and prone to spontaneous decomposition. They\nare composed of heterogeneous, but related, parts, termed organs, the\nobjects possessing them being called organized bodies. Some of the\nlowest forms of animals have bodies whose substance is so uniform that\nthey exhibit no definite organs, but this exception does not affect\nthe general value of this distinction. They are always more or less\ndefinite in shape, presenting concave and convex surfaces, and being\nlimited by curved lines. When they increase in size, or grow, as we\nproperly term it, it is not by the addition of particles from the\noutside, but by the reception of foreign matter into their interior and\nits consequent assimilation. Certain periodic changes, which follow\na definite and discoverable order, are invariably passed through by\norganized bodies. These changes constitute what is known as life. All\nthe objects, then, which fulfil these conditions are said to be alive,\nand they all appertain either to the vegetable or the animal kingdom.\nThe study of living objects, no matter to which kingdom they belong,\nis therefore conveniently called by the general name of Biology, which\nmeans a discourse on life. And as all living objects may be referred to\none or other of these kingdoms, so Biology may be divided into Botany,\nwhich treats of plants, and Zo\u00f6logy, which treats of animals.\n\nNow that we have divided all organized bodies into plants and animals,\nit becomes necessary to inquire into the differences which subsist\nbetween them, and which will enable us to separate the kindred\nsciences of Botany and Zo\u00f6logy. Nothing was thought so easy by older\nobservers than the determination of the animal or vegetable nature\nof any given organism, but, in point of fact, no hard-and-fast line\ncan be drawn, in the existing state of our knowledge, between the\nanimal and vegetable kingdoms, and it is sometimes difficult, or even\nimpossible, to decide with positiveness whether we are dealing with a\nplant or an animal. In the higher orders of the two kingdoms there is\nno difficulty in reaching a decision, the higher animals being readily\nseparated from the higher plants by the possession of a nervous system,\nof a locomotive power which can be voluntarily exercised, and of an\ninternal cavity adapted for the reception and digestion of solid food.\nNo so-called nervous system or organs of sense are possessed by the\nhigher plants, although some of them doubtlessly manifest conscious\nand intelligent action, nor are they capable of voluntary changes of\nplace, nor provided with any definite internal cavity, their food being\ngenerally fluid or gaseous.\n\nDescending the scale to the very bottom, we reach a class of animals,\nthe Protozoa, which cannot be separated in many cases from the\nProtophyta by these distinctions, since many of the former have\nno digestive cavity, nor the slightest trace of a nervous system,\nwhile many of the latter possess the power of active locomotion. As\nto external configuration, no certain rules can be laid down for\nseparating animals and plants, many of the lower plants, either in\ntheir earlier stages, or in their maturity, being exactly similar\nin form to some of the lower animals. This is the case with some of\nthe Alg\u00e6, which resemble very closely in form certain Infusorian\nanimalcules. Again, many undoubted animals, which are rooted to solid\nobjects in their adult state, are so plant-like in appearance as\nto be popularly regarded as vegetables. The Sea-firs, and the more\nhighly organized Flustras or Sea-mats, which are usually considered\nas sea-weeds by sea-side visitors, are a few of many examples that\nmight be taken from the so-called Hydroid Zo\u00f6phytes. No decided\ndistinction between animals and plants can be drawn as to their minute\ninternal structure, both alike consisting of molecules, of cells, or\nof fibres. Some decided, though not universal, differences exist in\nchemical composition. Plants exhibit a decided predominance of ternary\ncompounds, or compounds which, like sugar, starch and cellulose, are\nmade up of the three elements, carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, but are,\ncomparatively speaking, poorly supplied with quaternary compounds, or\nthose which contain an additional element of nitrogen. Animals, on\nthe contrary, are rich in quaternary nitrogenized compounds, such as\nalbumen or fibrin. Still, in both kingdoms we find nitrogenized and\nnon-nitrogenized compounds, and it is only in the proportion which\nthese sustain to each other in the organism that animals differ in any\nway from plants.\n\nBefore the invention of the microscope, no independent voluntary\nmovements, if we except the opening and closure of flowers, and their\nturning towards the sun, the drooping of the leaves of sensitive plants\nunder irritation, and some other kindred phenomena, were known in\nplants. Now, however, we know of many plants which are endowed, either\nwhen young or throughout life, with the power of effecting voluntary\nmovements apparently as spontaneous and independent as those performed\nby the lower animals, the movements being brought about by means of\nlittle vibrating cilia, or hairs, with which a part or the whole of\nthe surface is furnished. When it is added that many animals are\npermanently rooted, in their fully-grown condition, to solid objects,\nit will at once be apparent that no absolute distinction can be made\nbetween animals and plants merely because of the presence or absence of\nindependent locomotive power.\n\nThere is, however, a test, the most reliable of all that have been\ndiscovered, by which an animal may be distinguished from a plant, and\nthat is the nature of the food and the products which are elaborated\ntherefrom in the body. Plants live upon such inorganic substances\nas water, carbonic acid and ammonia, and they have the power of\nmanufacturing out of these true organic materials, and are therefore\nthe great producers of nature. All plants which contain green coloring\nmatter, technically called chlorophyll, break up carbonic acid in the\nprocess of digestion into its two constituents of carbon and oxygen,\nretaining the former and setting the latter free. And as the atmosphere\nalways contains carbonic acid in small quantities, the result is that\nplants remove carbonic acid therefrom and give out oxygen. Animals, on\nthe other hand, have no power of living on water, carbonic acid and\nammonia, nor of converting these into the complex organic substances of\ntheir bodies. That their existence may be maintained animals require to\nbe supplied with ready-made organic compounds, and for these they are\nall dependent upon plants, either directly or indirectly. In requiring\nas food complex organic bodies, which they ultimately reduce to very\nsimply inorganic ones, animals are thus found to differ from plants.\nWhilst plants are the great manufacturers in nature, animals are the\ngreat consumers. Another distinction, arising from the nature of their\nfood, is that animals absorb oxygen and throw out carbonic acid, their\nreaction upon the atmosphere being exactly the reverse of that of\nplants. There are organisms, it must be understood, which are genuine\nplants so far as their nutritive processes are concerned, but which,\nnevertheless, are in the possession of characters which could locate\nthem among the animals. Volvox, so abundant in our streams during the\nproper seasons, affords a splendid illustration of the truth of this\nstatement. Plants, which are devoid of chlorophyll, as is the case with\nthe Fungi, do not possess the power of decomposing carbonic acid under\nthe influence of sunlight, but are like animals in requiring organic\ncompounds for their food. Two points must therefore be borne in mind\nin regarding the general distinctions between plants and animals which\nwe have thus briefly outlined, and these are that they cannot often be\napplied in practice to ambiguous microscopic organisms, and certainly\nnot to plant-forms that are destitute of chlorophyll.\n\nThat life should manifest itself certain conditions are essential,\nbut some of which, though generally present, are not absolutely\nindispensable. One condition, however, seems to be very necessary, and\nthat is that the living body should be composed of a certain material.\nThis material, which forms the essential and fundamental parts of\neverything living, whether vegetable or animal, is technically called\nprotoplasm. Other substances than it are often found in living bodies,\nbut it is in protoplasm only that vitality appears to be inherent.\n\nBut whether it is the same in plants as in animals is a matter of\nopinion. One thing, however, seems reasonably certain, and that is that\nit is the medium or vehicle through which vital force is made manifest.\nUsed in its general sense, protoplasm is chemically related in its\nnature to albumen, and generally has the character of a jelly-like,\nsemi-fluid, transparent material, which, in itself, exhibits no\ndefiniteness of structure. When heated to a certain temperature it\ncoagulates, just as the white of an egg does when boiled. Living\nprotoplasm has the power of movement, of increasing in size or of\nmaintaining its existence by the assimilation of fresh and foreign\nmaterials, and of detaching portions of itself which may subsequently\ndevelop into fresh masses. Though protoplasm be present in the ova of\nanimals and the seeds of plants, yet there is no external and visible\nmanifestation of life. There is in them what is called a dormant\nvitality, which may remain for a long time unchanged, until altered\nexternal circumstances cause the organism to pass into a state of\nactive life.\n\nGenerally, certain external conditions must be present before any\nexternal vital phenomena can be manifested. The presence of atmospheric\nair, or rather of free oxygen, is in an ordinary way essential to\nactive life. Life, that is its higher manifestations, is only possible\nbetween certain ranges of temperature, varying from near the freezing\npoint to about 120\u00b0 Fahrenheit. As water is a necessary constituent of\nprotoplasm in its living state, so it becomes an absolutely essential\nrequisite to the carrying on of vital processes of all kinds, for\nthe mere drying of an animal or plant will, in most cases, kill it\noutright, and will always bring about a suspension of all visible\nlife-phenomena.\n\nWhile the large majority of living beings are organized, or composed of\ndifferent parts, called organs, which sustain certain relations with\none another, and which discharge different offices, yet it must not\ntherefore be concluded that organization is a necessary accompaniment\nof vitality, or that all living creatures are organized. Innumerous low\nforms of life, so low that they occupy the very lowest place in the\nscale of animated existences, absolutely exhibit no visible structure,\nand cannot, therefore, be said to be organized, but they, nevertheless,\ndischarge all their vital functions just as well as though they\npossessed special organs for the purpose. Concluding our theme, we\nare forced to admit that animals are organized, or possess structure,\nbecause they are alive, and not that they live because they are\norganized. By carefully comparing the morphological and physiological\ndifferences between different animals and plants, naturalists have\ndivided the entire animal and vegetable kingdoms into a number of\ndivisions, whose leading characteristics may be found in almost every\ntext-book. All that we promised ourselves when this work was first\nthought of was a brief treatment of a few of the most interesting\nlife-forms of this planet of ours in the light of their ways and\ndoings, and the direction of human thought to those traits of character\nand manifestations of conscious intelligence which fit them to become\npartakers with man of that new life which awaits him beyond the grave.\n\n\n\n\nPLANTS THAT FEED ON INSECTS.\n\n\nPerhaps it would be difficult to find in the whole range of vegetable\ncreation anything more curious than the carnivorous or flesh-eating\nplants. That animals eat plants creates in us no emotion of curiosity,\nfor this is the common law of nature. But that plants should devour\nanimals is a marvel to which few minds uninitiated in science would\ngive credence. Though these strange forms of vegetable life have been\nknown for about a century, yet it has been but a few years since the\nattention of naturalists was first specially called to their habits\nand character. No one has probably done more to explain the life and\noperations of the flesh-eating plants than Mr. Darwin.\n\nFor centuries strange rumors had been circulated of the existence of\nhuge plants in the more remote and unvisited parts of Asia which would\nimprison and destroy large animals and men that would venture within\nreach of their great quivering leaves armed with hooked spines, the\nflesh of the dead victim being absorbed into their structure, but all\nthese giant flesh-eating trees or plants have so far proved to be mere\nmyths. Science has discovered, however, that there is some foundation\nfor these exciting fictions, and it has not been obliged to go to\nthe distant East to find it, for flesh-eating plants are by no means\nuncommon in this country and Europe. But these plants confine their\ndestructive propensities to the crawling and flying insects which\nare beguiled by some tempting reward to rest on their leaves. Such a\nstrange provision of nature is no less interesting than if these plants\nhad the power to destroy the larger animals, for it is the fact itself\nwhich startles the attention by its seeming reversal of natural laws.\n\nNo better example of carnivorous plants could be taken than _Dion\u00e6a\nmuscipula_, or to use the common name, Venus\u2019s Fly-trap. It is a\nspecies that is indigenous to North Carolina and the adjacent parts of\nSouth Carolina, affecting sandy bogs in the pine forests from April\nto June, and a representative of the _Droscrace\u00e6_, or Sundew Family.\nOne cannot fail after once seeing it of becoming impressed with its\npeculiar characteristics. It is a smooth perennial herb with tufted\nradical leaves on broadly-winged, spatulate stems, the limb orbicular,\nnotched at both ends, and fringed on the margins with strong bristles.\nFrom the centre of the rosette of leaves proceeds at the proper time\na scape or leafless stalk which terminates in an umbel-like cyme of\nfrom eight to ten white bracted flowers, each flower being one inch\nin diameter. The roots are small and consist of two branches each an\ninch in length springing from a bulbous enlargement. Like an epiphytic\norchid, these plants can be grown in well-drained damp moss without any\nsoil, thus showing that the roots probably serve for the absorption\nof water solely. Three minute pointed processes or filaments, placed\ntriangularly, project from the upper surface of each lobe of the\nbi-lobed leaf, although cases are observed where four and even ten\nfilaments are found. These filaments are remarkable for their extreme\nsensitiveness to touch, as shown not only by their own movement, but by\nthat of the lobes also. Sharp, rigid projections, diminutive spikes as\nit were, stand out from the leaf-margins, each of which being entered\nby a bundle of spiral vessels. They are so arranged that when the lobes\nclose they interlock like the teeth of an old-fashioned rat-trap. That\nconsiderable strength may be had, the mid-rib of the leaf, on the lower\nside, is quite largely developed.\n\nMinute glands, of a reddish or purplish color, thickly cover the upper\nsurface of the leaf, excepting towards the margins, the rest of the\nleaf being green. No glands are found upon the spikes or upon the\nfoliaceous footstalk. From twenty to thirty polygonal cells, filled\nwith purple fluid, constitute each gland. They are convex above,\nsomewhat flattened underneath, and stand on very short pedicels, into\nwhich spiral vessels do not enter. They have the power of secretion\nunder certain influences, and also that of absorption. Minute octofid\nprojections, of a reddish-brown color, are scattered in considerable\nnumbers over the footstalk, the backs of the leaves and the spikes,\nwith a few on the upper surfaces of the lobes.\n\nThe sensitive filaments, which are a little more than one-twentieth\nof an inch in length, and thin, delicate and tapering to a point, are\nformed of several rows of elongated cells, filled with a purplish\nfluid. They are sometimes bifid or even trifid at the apex, and towards\nthe base there is a constriction formed of broader cells, and beneath\nthe constriction an articulation, supported on an enlarged base,\nconsisting of differently shaped polygonal cells. As the filaments\nproject at right angles to the surface of the leaf, they would have\nbeen in danger of being broken off whenever the lobes closed together\nhad it not been for the articulation, which allows them to bend flat\ndown. So exquisitely sensitive are these filaments, from their tips\nto their bases, to a momentary touch, that it is hardly possible to\ntouch them even so lightly or quickly with any hard object without\ncausing the lobes to close, but a piece of delicate human hair, two and\na-half inches in length, held dangling over a filament so as to touch\nit, or pinches of fine wheaten flour, dropped from a height, produce\nno effect. Though not glandular, and hence incapable of secretion,\nyet the filaments by their sensitiveness to a momentary touch, which\nis followed by the rapid closure of the lobes of the leaf, assure to\nDion\u00e6a the necessary supply of insect food for all its wants.\n\nInorganic bodies, even of large size, such as bits of stone, glass\nand such like, or organic bodies not containing nitrogeneous matter\nin a soluble condition, as bits of cork, wood, moss for examples, or\nbodies containing soluble nitrogeneous matter, if perfectly dry, such\nas small pieces of meat, albumen, gelatine, etc., may be long left on\nthe lobes, and no movement is excited. But when nitrogeneous organic\nbodies, which are all damp, are left on the lobes, the result is widely\ndifferent, for these then close by a slow and gradual movement and not\nin a rapid manner as when one of the sensitive filaments is touched\nby a hard substance. Small purplish, almost sessile glands, as has\nalready been stated, thickly cover the upper surface of the lobes.\nThese have the power both of secretion and absorption, but they do not\nsecrete until excited by the absorption of nitrogeneous matter. No\nother excitement, as far as experiments show, produces this effect.\nWhen the lobes are made to close over a bit of meat or an insect, the\nglands over the entire surface of the leaf emit a copious discharge, as\nin this case the glands on both sides are pressed against the meat or\ninsect, the secretion being twice as great as when the one or the other\nis laid on the surface of a single lobe; and as the two lobes come\ninto almost close contact the secretion, containing dissolved animal\nmatter, diffuses itself by capillary attraction, causing fresh glands\non both sides to begin secreting in a continually widening circle. The\nsecretion is almost colorless, slightly mucilaginous, moderately acid,\nand so copious at times in the furrow over the mid-rib as to trickle\ndown to the earth. But all this secretion is for the purposes of\ndigestion. Be the animal matter which the enclosed object yields ever\nso little, it serves as a peptogene, and the glands on the surface of\nthe leaf pour forth their acid discharge, which acts like the gastric\njuice of animals.\n\n[Illustration: VENUS\u2019S FLY-TRAP.\n\nHow It Captures Insects.]\n\nNow as to the manner in which insects are caught by the leaves of\n_Dion\u00e6a muscipula_. In its native country they are caught in large\nnumbers, but whether they are attracted in any special way no one\nseems to know. Both lobes close with astonishing quickness as soon\nas a filament is touched, and as they stand at less than a right\nangle to each other, they have an excellent chance of capturing any\nintruder. The chief seat of the movement is near the mid-rib, but is\nnot restricted to this part. Each lobe, when the lobes come together,\ncurves inwards across its whole breadth, the marginal spikes alone not\nbecoming curved. From the curving inwards of the two lobes, as they\nadvance towards each other, the straight marginal spikes intercross\nby their apices at first, and ultimately by their bases. The leaf is\nthen completely shut and encloses a shallow cavity. If made to shut\nmerely by the touching of one of the sensitive filaments, or by the\ninclusion of an object not yielding soluble nitrogeneous matter, the\ntwo lobes retain their inwardly concave form until they re-expand. The\nre-expansion, when no organic matter is enclosed, varies according\nto circumstances, a leaf in one instance being fully re-expanded in\nthirty-two hours.\n\nBut the lobes, when soluble nitrogeneous matter is included, instead\nof remaining concave, thus containing within a concavity, slowly press\nclosely together throughout their entire breadth, and as this takes\nplace the margins gradually become a little everted, so that the\nspikes, which at first intercrossed, at last project in two parallel\nrows. So firmly do they become pressed together that, if any large\ninsect has been caught, a corresponding projection is clearly visible\non the outside of the leaf. When the two lobes are thus completely\nclosed, they resist being opened, as by a thin wedge driven with\nastonishing force between them, and are generally ruptured rather than\nyield. If not ruptured, they close again with quite a loud flap. The\nslow movement spoken of, excited by the absorption of diffused animal\nmatter, suffices for its final purpose, whilst the movement brought on\nby the touching of one of the sensitive filaments is rapid, and thus\nindispensable for the capturing of insects.\n\nLeaves remain shut for a longer time over insects, especially if the\nlatter are large, than over meat. In many instances where they have\nremained for a long period over insects naturally caught, they were\nmore or less torpid when they reopened, and generally so much so during\nmany succeeding days that no excitement of the filaments caused the\nleast movement. Vigorous leaves will sometimes devour prey several\ntimes, but ordinarily twice, or, quite often, once is enough to render\nthem unserviceable.\n\nWhat purpose the marginal spikes, which form so conspicuous a feature\nin the appearance of the plant, subserve was unknown until the genius\nof Darwin solved the mystery. It was he that showed that elongated\nspaces between the spikes, varying from one-fifteenth to one-tenth of\nan inch in breadth according to the size of the leaf, are left open\nfor a short time before the edges of the lobes come into contact,\nconsequent upon the intercrossing of the tips of the marginal spikes\nfirst, thus enabling an insect whose body is not thicker than these\nmeasurements to escape, when disturbed by the closing lobes and\nthe increasing darkness, quite easily between the crossed spikes.\nModerately sized insects, if they try to escape between the bars, will\nbe pushed back into the horrid prison with the slowly closing walls,\nfor the spikes continue to close more and more until the lobes are\nbrought into contact. Very strong insects, however, manage to effect\ntheir release. It would manifestly be a great disadvantage to the\nplant to remain many days clasped over a minute insect, and as many\nadditional days or weeks in recovering its sensibility, inasmuch as\na very small insect would afford but little nourishment. Far better\nwould it be for the plant to wait until a moderately large insect was\ncaptured, and to allow the little ones to escape, and this advantage is\ngained by the slow intercrossing of the marginal spikes, which, acting\nlike the large meshes of a fishing-net, allow the small and worthless\nfry to pass through.\n\nTouching any one of the six filaments is sufficient to cause both\nlobes to close, these becoming at the instant incurved throughout\ntheir entire breadth. The stimulus must therefore radiate in all\ndirections from any one filament, and it must also be transmitted with\nconsiderable rapidity across the leaf, for in all ordinary cases,\nas far as the eye can judge, both lobes close at the same time.\nPhysiologists generally believe that in irritable plants the excitement\nis transmitted along, or in close connection with, the fibro-vascular\nbundles. Those in Dion\u00e6a seem at first sight to favor this belief, for\nthey run up the mid-rib in a great bundle, sending off small bundles\nalmost at right angles on each side, which bifurcate occasionally as\nthey stretch towards the margin, the marginal branches from adjoining\nbranches uniting and entering the marginal spikes. Thus a continuous\nzigzag line of vessels runs round the whole circumference of the\nleaf, while in the mid-rib all the vessels are in close contiguity,\nso that all parts of the leaf seem to be brought into some degree of\ncommunication. The presence of vessels, however, is not necessary for\nthe transmission of the motor impulse, for it is transmitted from the\napices of the sensitive filaments, which are hardly one-tenth of an\ninch in length, into which no vessels are seen to enter. Slits made\nclose to the bases of the filaments, parallel to the mid-rib, and thus\ndirectly across the course of the vessels, sometimes on the inner\nand sometimes on the outer sides of the filaments, do not interfere\nwith the transmission of the motor impulse along the vessels, and\nconclusively show that there is no necessity for a direct line of\ncommunication from the filament, which is touched towards the mid-rib\nand opposite lobe, or towards the outer parts of the same lobe.\nWith respect to the movement of the leaves, the wonderful discovery\nmade by Dr. Burdon Sanderson, and published in 1874, offers an easy\nexplanation. There is, says this distinguished authority, a normal\nelectrical current in the blade and footstalk, which, when the leaves\nare irritated, is disturbed in the same manner as is the muscle of an\nanimal when contraction takes place.\n\nAfter contraction has endured for a greater or less time, dependent\nupon circumstances which we do not well understand, re-expansion of\nthe leaves is effected at an insensibly slow rate, whether or not any\nobject is enclosed, both lobes opening in all ordinary cases at the\nsame time, although each lobe may act to a certain extent independently\nof the other. The re-expansion is not determined by the sensitive\nfilaments, for these may be cut off close to their bases, or be\nentirely removed, and re-expansion occur in the usual manner. It is\nbelieved that the several layers of cells forming the lower surface of\nthe leaf are always in a state of tension, and that it is owing to this\nmechanical state, aided probably by fresh fluid being drawn into the\ncells, that the lobes begin to separate as soon as the contraction of\nthe upper surface diminishes.\n\nSix known genera, Drosophyllum, Roridula, Byblis, Drosera, Dion\u00e6a and\nAldrovanda comprise the Droserace\u00e6, all of which capture insects. The\nfirst three genera effect this purpose solely by the viscid fluid\nsecreted from their glands, and the last, like Dion\u00e6a, which has\nalready been described, through the closing of the blades of the leaf.\nIn these last two genera rapid movement makes up for the loss of viscid\nsecretion. But of all the genera none is more interesting than the\ntypical Sundews.\n\nGrowing in poor peaty soil, and sometimes along the borders of ponds\nwhere nothing else can grow, certain low herbaceous plants, called\nDroseras, abound. So small and apparently insignificant are they,\nthat to the ordinary observer they are almost unnoticed. But they\nhave peculiarities of structure and nature that readily distinguish\nthem. Scattered thickly over their leaves are reddish bristles or\ntentacles, each surmounted by a gland, from which an extremely viscid\nfluid, sparkling in the sunlight like dew, exudes in transparent\ndrops. Hence the common name of Sundew by which the half-dozen species\nfound in the United States east of the Mississippi River are known. A\none-sided raceme, whose flowers open only when the sun shines, crowns\na smooth scape, which is devoid of tentacles. _Drosera rotundifolia_,\nour commonest species, has a wide range, being indigenous to both\nEurope and America. In the United States it extends from New England\nto Florida and westward, and is occasionally associated with\n_Drosera longifolia_, a form with long strap-shaped leaves, but\nwhose distribution is mostly restricted to maritime regions, from\nMassachusetts to Florida.\n\n[Illustration: ROUND-LEAVED SUNDEW.\n\nLeaves Acting as Stomachs.]\n\nAll of the species are remarkably similar in habits, capturing insects,\nand digesting and absorbing the soft parts, a circumstance which\nexplains how these plants can flourish in an extremely poor soil where\nmosses, which depend almost entirely upon the atmosphere for their\nnourishment, only can live. Although the leaves of the Droseras at\na hasty glance do not appear green, owing to the purple color of the\ntentacles, yet the superior and inferior surfaces of the blade, the\nstalks of the central tentacles, and the petioles contain chlorophyll,\nrendering the best of evidence that the plants obtain and assimilate\ncarbon dioxide from the air. But when the poverty of the soil where\nthese plants grow is considered, it is at once apparent that their\nsupply of nitrogen would be exceedingly small, or quite deficient,\nunless they had the power of obtaining it from some other source. From\ncaptured insects this important element is largely obtained, and thus\nwe are prepared to understand how it is that their roots, which consist\nof only two or three slightly divided branches, from one-half to one\ninch in length, and furnished with absorbent hairs, are so poorly\ndeveloped. From what has been stated it would seem that the roots but\nserve to imbibe water, but there is no doubt that nutritious matters\nwould also be absorbed were they present in the soil.\n\nWith the edges of its leaves curled so as to form a temporary stomach,\nand with the glands of its closely-inflected tentacles pouring forth\ntheir truly acid secretion, which dissolves animal matters that are\nsubsequently absorbed, Drosera may be said to feed like an animal. But,\nunlike an animal, it drinks by means of its roots, and largely, too,\nfor it would not be able to supply its glands with the necessary viscid\nfluid. The amount needed is by no means an inconsiderable quantity, as\ntwo hundred and seventy drops may sometimes be exposed during a whole\nday to a glaring sun. Such a profuse exudation implies preparations for\nhosts of insect visitors. In this Drosera has not miscalculated. Its\nbright pink blossoms and brilliant, glistening dew lure vast numbers of\nthe smaller kinds, and the larger ones, too, to certain death. But the\nwholesale destruction of life that goes on is much in excess of what\nthe plant requires for food. While the smaller flies remain adherent\nto the leaves, affording them the needed aliment, the larger insects,\nafter death, fall around the roots, where they decay and fertilize\nthe soil with nitrogen, which doubtless through the proper channels\nmakes its way into the body of the plant, thus helping to give it\ntone and vigor. There are times when these plants work better than at\nothers, but whether this is caused by the electrical condition of the\natmosphere, or the amount of its contained moisture, is a question\nwhich science has not positively determined.\n\n_Drosera longifolia_ folds it leaves entirely around its victim, from\nthe apex down to the petiole after the manner of its vernation, but\nin _Drosera rotundifolia_, whose marginal tentacles are longer, the\ntentacles simply curve around the object, the glands touching the\nsubstance, like so many mouths receiving nourishment. Experimented\nupon with raw beef, the tentacles of healthy leaves, from within to\nwithout, but in periods of time varying from six to eight or nine\nhours, clasp firmly the beef, almost concealing it from view. Equally\nvigorous leaves, however, made no move towards clasping a bit of dry\nchalk, a chip of flint, or a lump of earth. Bits of raw apple cause\na curving of the tentacles, but very few of the glands are seen\ntouching them. It would seem, therefore, that these plants are really\ncarnivorous, preferring animal substances, which they, by the aid of\nsome ferment analogous to pepsin, which is secreted by the glands, are\nable to absorb. A minute quantity of already soluble animal matter is\nthe exciting cause, and this must be taken in by the glands, or there\nis no secretion of the fermenting material.\n\nIn all ordinary cases the glands alone are susceptible to excitement.\nWhen excited, they do not themselves move or change form, but transmit\na motor impulse to the bending part of their own and adjoining\ntentacles, and are thus carried towards the centre of the leaf.\nStimulants applied to the glands of the short tentacles on the disc\nindirectly excite movement of the exterior tentacles, for the stimulus\nof the glands of the disc acts on the bending part of the latter\ntentacles, near their bases, and does not first travel up the pedicels\nto the glands, to be then reflected back to the bending place. Some\ninfluence, however, does travel up to the glands, causing them to\nsecrete most copiously, and the secretion to become acid, just such\nan influence as that which in animals is transmitted along the nerves\nto glands, modifying their power of secretion, independently of the\ncondition of the blood-vessels. Over organic substances that yield\nsoluble matter the tentacles remain clasped for a much longer time\nthan over those not acted upon by the secretion, or over inorganic\nobjects. That they have the power of rendering organic substances\nsoluble, that is, that they have the power of digestion, is no longer\na question of dispute. They certainly have this power, acting on\nalbuminous compounds in exactly the same manner as does the gastric\njuice of mammals, the digested matter being afterwards absorbed. In\nanimals the digestion of albuminous compounds is effected by means of\na ferment, pepsin, together with weak hydrochloric acid, though almost\nany acid will serve, yet neither pepsin nor an acid by itself has any\nsuch power. It has been observed that when the glands of the disc are\nexcited by the contact of any object, especially of one containing\nnitrogeneous matter, the outer tentacles and often the blade become\ninflected, the leaf thereby becoming converted into a temporary cup or\nstomach. The discal glands then secrete more copiously, the secretion\nbecoming acid, and, moreover, some influence being transmitted by them\nto the glands of the exterior tentacles, causing them to emit a more\nabundant secretion, which also becomes acid. This secretion is to a\ncertain extent antiseptic, as it checks the appearance of mould and\ninfusoria, and in this particular acts like the gastric juice of the\nhigher animals, which is known to arrest putrefaction by destroying the\nmicrozymes.\n\nWith animals, according to Schiff, mechanical irritation excites\nthe glands of the stomach to secrete an acid, but not pepsin. There\nis strong reason to believe, too, that the glands of Drosera, which\nare continually secreting viscid fluid to replace the losses by\nevaporation, do not secrete the ferment proper for digestion when\nmechanically irritated, but only after absorbing certain matters of\na nitrogeneous nature. The glands of the stomachs of animals secrete\npepsin only after they have absorbed certain soluble substances\ndesignated peptogenes, showing a remarkable parallelism between the\nglands of Drosera and those of the stomach in the secretion of their\nappropriate acid and ferment.\n\nNot only animal matter, but also the albumen of living seeds, which\nare injured or killed by the secretion, are acted upon by the glands\nof Drosera. Matter is likewise absorbed from pollen, and from fresh\nleaves. The stomachs of vegetable-feeding animals, as is only too well\nknown, possess a similar power of extracting nourishment from such\narticles. Though properly an insectivorous plant, but as pollen, as\nwell as the seeds and leaves of surrounding plants, cannot fail to be\noften or occasionally blown upon the glands of Drosera, yet it must be\ncredited with being to a certain extent a vegetable feeder.\n\nThat a plant and an animal should secrete the same, or nearly the same,\ncomplex digestive fluid, adapted for a similar purpose, is a wonderful\nfact in physiology, but not more remarkable than the movements of a\ntentacle consequent upon an impulse received from its own gland, the\nmovement at the bending place of the tentacle being always towards\nthe centre of the leaf, and so it is with all the tentacles when\ntheir glands are excited by immersion in a suitable fluid. The short\ntentacles in the middle part of the disc, however, must be excepted,\nas these do not bend at all when thus excited. But when the motor\nimpulse comes from one side of the disc, the surrounding tentacles,\nand even the short ones in the middle of the disc, all bend with\nprecision towards the point of excitement, no matter where it may be\nlocated. This is in every way a remarkable phenomenon, for the leaf\nappears as if endowed with animal sense and intelligence. It is all the\nmore remarkable when the motor impulse strikes the base of a tentacle\nobliquely to its flattened surface, for then the contraction of the\ncells must be restricted to one, two or a very few rows at one end, and\ndifferent sides of the surrounding tentacles must be acted on that all\nmay bend with precision to the point of excitement. The motor impulse,\nas it spreads from one or more glands across the disc, enters the bases\nof the surrounding tentacles, and instantly acts on the bending place,\nbut does not first proceed up the tentacles to the glands, causing them\nto reflect back an impulse to their bases, although some influence\nis sent up to the glands, whereby their secretion is soon increased\nand rendered acid. The glands, being thus excited, send back some\nother influence, dependent neither on increased secretion nor on the\ninflection of the tentacles, which causes the protoplasm to aggregate\nin cell beneath cell. This maybe called a reflex action. How it differs\nfrom that which proceeds from the nerve-ganglion of an animal, if it\ndiffer at all, no one can say. It is probably the only known case of\nreflex action in the vegetable kingdom.\n\nConcerning the mechanism of the movements and the character of the\nmotor impulse little is known. During the act of inflection fluid\nsurely passes from one part to another of the tentacles. In explanation\nof the fact it is claimed that the motor impulse is allied in nature\nto the aggregating process, and that this causes the molecules of\nthe cell-walls to approach each other, as do the molecules of the\nprotoplasm within the cells, thereby causing the cells in all to\ncontract. This is probably the hypothesis that best accords with the\nobserved facts, although some strong objections may be urged against\nthis view. The elasticity of their outer cells, which comes into\nactivity as soon as those on the inner side cease contracting with\nprepotent force, leads largely to the re-expansion of the tentacles,\nbut there is reason to suspect that fluid is continually and slowly\nattracted into the outer cells during the act of re-expansion, thus\naugmenting their tension.\n\nWith respect to the structure, movements, constitution and habits of\n_Dion\u00e6a muscipula_ and _Drosera rotundifolia_, as well as kindred\nspecies, little has been made out by patient study and investigation\nin comparison with what remains unexplained and unknown. Many of\ntheir movements, especially of Dion\u00e6a and Drosera, seem so sensible\nand intelligent that the reflecting mind of man can hardly hesitate\nto assign them high positions in organic nature and the possession,\neven though in a very small degree, of that consciousness with which\nanimal life is endowed. That man is psychically related to all life\nis the belief of millions in the old world, and the hope of millions\nin the new. In this thought is the escape from materialism, that\nthreat of the ignorant and unbelieving. Higher conceptions of beauty\nand greatness are now being entertained by the multitudes, and we\nbegin to feel that the next great step is being taken when we shall\nbecome, instead of poor trembling denizens of a perishable world, proud\nand conscious citizens of an imperishable universe. That we of the\nupper ranks of God\u2019s creation alone possess an inner life which shall\ntranscend all change is no longer a general belief, but there is a\ngrowing hope that all nature shares it, and that love is its expression\nand its method. All existence is a unit. Life, law and love are divine.\nMan, looking calmly about him, cannot set himself apart as something\nessentially different from nature, but must recognize himself as a\npart, and include love in the universal scheme of development. All\nother expressions of life must share with him in the divine love and\nprogress. His dogmas, founded on mistaken traditions, have given way to\nscience, and he cannot but believe that love is in and of the soul, and\nthat all life has some sort of development of soul. Because plant-life\nhas no brain, and therefore has no intelligence, no mind, no soul, is\npreposterous to contemplate. Who can positively affirm that brain alone\nis the seat of conscious intelligence? None but He alone, the Giver of\nall life, who sits enthroned and exalted in the everlasting heavens.\n\n\n\n\nSLIME-ANIMALS.\n\n\nPossibly the simplest of life\u2019s children are the singularly unique and\nstructureless little Finger Slimes, which live not only in the sea but\nalso in puddles and pools, and in the gutters of our streets and of\nour house-tops. Anywhere that stagnant water abounds these tiny drops\nof slime will grow up and make it their home. Sometimes few and far\nbetween, and sometimes in such immense crowds that the entire pond\nwould seem, if they could be seen with the unaided vision, literally\nalive with them, they live, and multiply and die under our very feet.\n\nNothing can be less animal-like than one of these shapeless masses\nof pure protoplasm, yet under a microscope of strong power it may be\nseen moving lazily along by pulling out a thick finger of slime and\nthen letting all the rest of its body flow after it. When coming into\ncontact with food it may be said to flow over it, dissolving the soft\nparts and sending out the hard, indigestible refuse anywhere, no matter\nwhere, for its body is devoid of skin, being merely one general mass of\nhomogeneous slime.\n\nBut what can these little slime specks tell us about the wonderful\npowers of life? Nothing at all, it would seem, for in these tiny\ncreatures life has nothing better to work with than a mere drop of\nliving matter, which is all alike throughout, so that if broken into\na hundred pieces every piece would be as much a living being as the\nwhole. And yet by means of the wonderful gift of life, with which\nthe all-wise Omnipotence has endowed it, this slime-drop lives, and\nbreathes, and eats, and increases, shrinks away when you touch it,\nfeels for its food, and moves from place to place, changing its shape\nto form limbs and feeling-threads, which are let into the general\norganism when they have served the purpose of their existing, only to\nbe succeeded by others as short-lived as themselves when necessity\nrequires their development.\n\nSo small are these creatures that the largest specimen will be found\nto be smaller than the smallest pin\u2019s head. Examine how we will, there\nwill be found no mouth, no stomach, no muscles, no nerves, no parts of\nany kind. The animal looks merely like a minute drop of gum with fine\ngrains diffused throughout, floating in the water, some times with\noutstretched arms, and at other times as a simple drop. An analysis\nof the matter of which it is composed shows it to be much the same as\na speck of white-of-egg. Yet it is alive, for it breathes. Kept in a\ndrop of water, it uses up the oxygen it contains, and renders the water\nfoul by the carbonic acid it breathes out. The arms, so necessary in\nthe procurement of food, can be drawn in and thrown out when and where\nthe animal chooses, showing that some option is undoubtedly exercised\nin the matter. Minute jelly-plants, that live in the water, and even\nhigher animals than itself, constitute its food. The presence of an\nanimal with a shell does not deter it from attack, for it is just as\nable to deal with it as with the softer, shell-less kinds, sucking\ntheir jelly-like contents, and discarding the empty, innutritious\nshells.\n\nQuite as interesting among the Moners, to which the Finger Slime\nbelongs, is the _Protomyxa aurantiaca_, a shapeless bit of transparent\nmatter, containing merely circulating granules. Locomotion is effected\nby extending the body into pseudopodia, or false feet, and contracting\nthem. Its movement is slow and gliding. When at rest it appears as a\nmere lump of jelly, but its whole demeanor changes when in the presence\nof a living animal suited for food. Fine threads immediately begin to\nshoot out from all sides, which fuse about the unsuspecting prey, while\nall the little grains in the slime course to and fro. For five or six\nhours the little fellow hugs closely round the prey until it has become\nthoroughly absorbed, at least the nutritious parts, into its body-mass,\nwhen it draws itself away, or back into its original place, leaving by\nits side the skeleton of its late victim. Without eyes or ears or parts\nof any kind it knows how to find its food; without muscles or limbs it\nis able to seize it; without a mouth it can suck out its living body,\nand without a stomach it can digest the food in the midst of its own\nslime, and cast out the parts for which it has no use.\n\n[Illustration: PROTOMYXA FEEDING.]\n\nWhen Protomyxa has become a burden to itself it divides itself by a\nsimple process of fission, each part being complete in itself, or it\nassumes a thick covering, becoming encysted, as it is termed. In a\nlittle while the enclosed mass divides into spheres, the cell-wall\nbursts, and the little spheres, which have now taken on a sort of\ntadpole shape, float out upon the water, where they soon assume the\nparent-form.\n\nLike all living things, these Moners have a desire for food, which\ntheir protoplasm first appropriates, then converts into available\nmaterial. They thus grow and increase in size, but when they become\ntoo large to be comfortable they usually split into two, in obedience\nto the law of their being, and each half goes its own way as a living\nanimal. This is the earliest form of parentage, the simplest form\nof reproduction. Thus yielding to this necessity of a separation of\none into more than one, these Moners live on forever, or as long as\nthe earth continues to support life, thus becoming immortal in the\nscientific sense in which the term is used to devote a continuance of\nthe physical life on earth. They only and their nearest relatives, as\nsimple in structure as themselves, achieve this stupendous result, for\nin such a division of their entire substance they know no loss, no\ndeath of any part, violence only being able to sunder them from life.\nThey resolve themselves into their own offspring, and nothing perishes.\n\n\n\n\nPRIMITIVE LASSO-THROWERS.\n\n\nEvery one knows that the long cord or thong, called the lasso, is the\npeculiar weapon of the South American hunter. Almost from his earliest\nchildhood the young Gaucho learns to amuse himself with it, and as soon\nas he is able to walk takes great pleasure in catching young birds and\nother animals around his father\u2019s hut, hurling the long lash with such\ndexterity that the noose drops over their bodies and brings them to his\nfeet. Did we wish to select from among all the denizens of life the\nmost brilliant, graceful, and sylph-like, whose very life-histories\nread more like the romance of poetry than sober reality, we would\nchoose those which might be appropriately designated the lasso-throwers.\n\nNow among animals, as is only too well known, any weapons which they\ncould be called upon to use must develop in their own bodies, and\ntherefore it could hardly be suspected that a simple jelly-animal could\nbe provided with a lasso ready grown in its own flesh. Yet it is so,\nfor in that class of animals, which ranks just above the sponges, we\ndiscover a weapon of this kind as simple and as deadly, and far more\nwonderful in its action than any used by man.\n\nIn fresh-water ponds, attached by its base to the under surfaces of\naquatic plants, may be found a very small animal, just large enough to\nbe seen without the aid of a lens, usually pale green, but sometimes\nof a brown color. This is our common hydra, technically called _Hydra\nfusca_. It is nothing more than a tube or sac, with a sucker at one end\nto hold on with, and a mouth at the other, surrounded with from five\nto eight hollow tentacles or feelers, which opens into a central cavity\nor stomach. Firm and muscular are the walls of the sac, so that the\nlittle creature, which is not fixed permanently to whatever it is found\nclinging to, may stretch itself out or draw back as its own volition\ndictates, or move slowly along by means of its sucker, or float easily\nor contentedly upon the water. But the most remarkable, as well as the\nmost interesting thing about this odd creature is the power which it\npossesses of overcoming animals more powerful and active than itself.\n\n[Illustration: FRESH-WATER HYDRA MOORED AND SEARCHING FOR PREY.]\n\nGroping about with its flexible arms, which are closely invested with\nfine jelly-hairs, with which it seemingly feels, or attached to some\nleaf or bit of floating stick, its tentacles reaching out in all\ndirections, the Hydra instantly paralyzes any minute insects, young\nsnail or infusorian that touches its feelers, and complacently closing\nits arms over the helpless victim, carefully tucks it away, so to\nspeak, into its stomach, where it is speedily digested. This power of\nparalyzing and thus readily capturing active living creatures is due to\nthe presence in the skin of the tentacles and body of what are called\nlasso-cells, or nettling-organs, which are minute, transparent cells,\nso small that two hundred of the largest would occupy but the distance\nof an inch, each being armed with a long barbed thread coiled up within\nits walls. This delicate thread, which is often from twenty to forty\ntimes the length of the cell, lies bathed in a poisonous fluid, and\nonly waits for the cell-walls to burst, which they do when the Hydra\ntouches an animal swimming near it, when thousands of these little\nbarbed cords dart into the victim, quickly paralyzing it and rendering\nit an easy prey to its captor. All C\u0153lenterates, such as jelly-fishes\nand coral polyps, possess these nettling-organs.\n\nThus we see where the Hydra\u2019s strength lies. He has no need to\nstruggle, for his victim, penetrated by a multitude of darts, and\nmade powerless by the poison instilled, becomes as manageable as an\nequal bulk of inert matter. It behooves the little creature to take\nthings quietly, for a cell once burst cannot be used again, and he is\ntherefore compelled to wait until a new one is grown to take the place\nof the one that has become exhausted. So he patiently bides his time\ntill his victim is half-conquered, when he draws him gently into his\nbody. He lives and catches his food, as must be apparent, without the\nnecessity of moving very far from the place where he had his birth.\n\nAll the summer through the Hydra puts out buds from its side, which,\nwhen their tentacles have grown, drop from the parent-body, and settle\ndown in life for themselves. But when winter comes, and before all life\nhas become extinct, an egg appears near the base of the tubes of those\nthat are living, and these eggs lie dormant till the next spring, when\nthey are hatched, and a new generation of Hydras is produced. Budding,\nwhich is but a process of natural self-division, is carried on to a\nlarge extent, more individuals being produced in this way than from\neggs. These buds are at first a simple bulging out of the body-walls,\nthe bud enveloping a portion of the stomach, until it becomes\nconstricted and drops off, the tentacles meanwhile budding out from the\ndistal end, and a mouth-opening arising between them. In the Hydra,\nthe Actinia, and other polyps, and in truth in all the lower animals,\nbudding is simply due to an increase in the growth and multiplication\nof cells at a special place on the outside of the body. As in the\nvertebrates, man included, the Hydra arises from an egg which, after\nfertilization, passes through two stages, the germ consisting at first\nof two cell-layers, but the sexes are not separate as in the marine\nHydroids, which grow in colonies that may be either male or female.\n\nLike some other animals of simple structure, the Hydra is capable of\nreproducing to a most wonderful degree when cut into pieces. Divided\nin two, each becomes a perfect Hydra, and even when sliced into any\nnumber of thin rings each ring will grow out a crown of tentacles. You\nmay split them into longitudinal strips and each strip will eventually\nbecome a well-shaped Hydra. Two individuals may be fastened together\nby a horse-hair and in a short time they will have become like Siamese\ntwins, but there will never arise the slightest disagreement between\nthem. A Hydra turned inside out will readily adapt itself to the\nchange, and in a few days will be able to swallow and digest bits\nof meat, its former stomach-lining having now taken upon itself the\ncondition of skin.\n\n_Hydra fusca_ is our simplest lasso-thrower, and the only one to be\nfound in fresh waters in this country. Such a wonderful and deadly\nweapon is his, that it is easy to understand how his numerous relatives\nin the wide ocean have made good use of the weapon with which nature\nhas provided them, and secured, under all kinds of shapes and forms,\nhomes and resting-places throughout the vast waste of waters. From the\nArctic to the Tropics, and from the shallow seaside pools at low tide\nto the fathomless abysses of the ocean, we meet the lasso-throwers.\nNow in the form of huge jelly-fishes, covering the sea for miles and\nmiles, transparent domes by day and phosphorescing lights by night, and\nnow as tiny balls of jelly, glistening by millions in some quiet bay\nand splintering into light upon the beach; or in the form of living\nanimal-trees waving their graceful arms over rocks in waters deep, or\ncreeping like delicate threads over shells and stones and seaweed on\nthe shore, where they often lose their identity and are mistaken for\nplants. There is scarcely a nook or cranny in the bed of ocean where\nthese tree-like forms, associated with the beautiful sea-anemone, whose\nbrilliant crimson, green and purple are unmatched in color by gem and\nflower, are not to be found.\n\nAll these beautiful creatures, as well as the living coral that nestles\nin the bosom of the warm Mediterranean or the sea that lashes our\nSouthern shores, or that struggles boldly against Pacific\u2019s waves,\nare lasso-throwers. _C\u0153lenterata_, the \u201chollow-bodied animals,\u201d\nbecause of the large cavity within their bodies, is the name by which\nthey are known to science. They naturally fall into two families,\nthe _Hydrozoa_, or Water Animals, and the _Actinizoa_, or Ray-like\nAnimals, our little Hydra, about which so much has been written, being\nrepresentative of the former and the Anemones of the latter division.\n\n\n\n\nFIVE-FINGERED JACK ON THE OYSTER.\n\n\nQuite as infinite in number, variety and form is the life of the\nsea as that of the land. But of all marine animals, however, there\nis none more curious than the echinoderm, a name derived by science\nfrom two Greek words, indicating an animal bristling with spines like\nthe hedgehog. These creatures are sometimes free, but quite as often\nattached by a stem, flexible or otherwise, and radiate after the\nfashion of a circle or star, or are of the form of a star, with more\nor less elongated arms. They are covered with shell-like plates, which\nthey secrete for themselves, and are still further protected by spines\nor scales.\n\nPerhaps the most common of the echinoderms is the Star-fish, or\nFive-fingered Jack, as it is called by sailors. Whoever has spent\nany time on the seashore has doubtless made the acquaintance of\nthis animal, for it is readily distinguishable by its shape, its\nupper surface being rough and tuberculous, and armed with spine-like\nprojections, while the under portion is soft, containing the essential\norgans of life and locomotion.\n\nWhen first seen stranded on the shore the Star-fish, by the\nuninitiated, is thought to be a creature incapable of movement of\nany kind. But this is far from being the case, for in its native\nelement it moves along the bottom of the sea with the greatest ease,\nbeing provided with an apparatus specially adapted for the purpose.\nOrdinarily its arms are kept upon the same level, but in passing over\nobstacles that lay in its path, the animal has the power of raising\nany one of its several arms. Elevations are ascended with the same\nease and facility as progression on plane surfaces is effected.\nPerforating the arms, or rays, and issuing from apertures, will be\nfound large numbers of membranous tubes, which prove to be the feet\nof the animal. Upon careful examination the latter will be found to\nconsist of two parts, a bladder-like portion, resident within the body,\nand a tubular outlying projection, ending in a disk-shaped sucker, thus\nshowing the feet to be muscular cylinders, hollow in the centre, and\nvery extensible. In progression the animal extends a few of its feet,\nattaches its suckers to the rocks or stones and then, by retracting its\nfeet, draws the body forward. Like that of the tortoise, its pace is\nslow and sure. But the most singular thing about this singular animal\nis its manner of overcoming obstructions, which it must certainly\nperceive, judging from the preparations to surmount them which it makes\nat the opportune moment.\n\nIn addition to organs of locomotion Star-fishes possess blood-vessels,\ndigestive and respiratory apparatus, and a nervous system of a very\nlow order, an inference to which its seeming capacity of enduring\nvivisection without pain unmistakably leads.\n\nInteresting as its manner of progression, even under the most trying\ncircumstances, must be, yet there is nothing in the life of this\nlowly-organized animal that has half the charm to the true lover and\nstudent of nature than the mother Star\u2019s devotion to her young. Her\neggs she carries in little pouches placed at the base of the rays. When\nemitted through an opening, which occasionally and unintentionally\noccurs, the mother does not abandon them to the cruel charities of the\nocean world, but gathers them together, forming a kind of protecting\ncover of them, very much like a hen brooding over her chickens. Her\nactions bespeak an anxiety which could only be born of an affection, as\nreal and sympathetic as that which a human mother feels for the loss of\nany of her offspring. No matter how often the eggs become accidentally\nscattered, the mother does not grow weary of her charges and leave\nthem to themselves, but gathers them to the maternal fold with the same\ntender, patient solicitude as characterized her first efforts. Confined\nto a tank, when with ova, the mother Star has been known to traverse\nthe entire length of the vessel until she has found and recovered her\nscattered treasures.\n\nReproduction by eggs is not the only means of generation in vogue. In\ncommon with other sea animals the Star-fish has the strange capacity\nof detaching one or more of its arms, each of the cast-off members\nbecoming in time a perfect creature of its own kind, while a new arm,\nfully equipped to perform all necessary functions, will grow out in\nplace of the lost member. From twelve to fifteen weeks are required\nto reproduce a lost ray, the animal meanwhile seeming not the least\ndiscontented, but acting as utterly unconscious of any changes in its\nanatomy.\n\nAs found upon the shore, Star-fishes appear dead when really they are\nalive. Put one of these perfectly still creatures into fresh sea-water,\nand in a short time it will probably be disporting itself as freely as\never it did. But as the dead and the living, when stranded by the tide,\npresent nearly the same appearance, some certain test seems necessary\nto distinguish them apart. If a Star-fish hangs loose and limp, it\nis dead; but, however dead it may look, if on touching it there are\nmanifest a firmness and consistency in its substance, one may feel\nreasonably sure that it is playing the \u2019possum and will revive when\nplaced in the water. Quite as certain a mode of ascertaining whether\nyour starry friend is living or dead, is to lay it upon its back, when,\nif alive, a number of semi-transparent globular objects will be seen\nto move, reaching this way and that, as though feeling for something\nto lay hold of wherewith to restore it to its normal position. These\nglobular appendages are the _ambulacra_, or locomotory organs, seeking\nto acquire this end. If, however, no movement is manifested, you can\nwisely conclude that your animal is dead.\n\nThe Star-fish, not unlike all other animals of the sea, has an appetite\nthat is never satisfied. Dinner is always welcome. The procurement of\nfood seems its chief concern in life. It is a scavenger of no mean\nimportance, keeping up an incessant chase after all kinds of dead\nanimal matter, and thus largely contributing, it is probable, towards\nthe maintaining of the waters of the ocean in a state of purity. But\nits feeding is not exclusively restricted to decaying matters. Any\nspecies of mollusk, from the humble whelk, not more than five-eighths\nof an inch in length, to the lordly oyster, so esteemed by epicures,\nconstitutes a dainty tidbit. No more inveterate ravager and brigand,\nnot even excepting man himself, have the oyster-beds to disturb\nthe equanimity and serenity of their existence than the audacious,\ninsinuating Star-fish.\n\nWith its five arms, and apparently without any other organ, this\ncomparatively insignificant little being accomplishes a work which man,\nwithout the aid of extraneous appliances, is quite unable to execute.\nIt opens an oyster as deftly and effectually as an expert oysterman\nwould do, and that, too, without the habitual oyster-knife, and\nswallows the slimy bivalve in the same manner as the lords of creation\ndo. Man, with all his genius and skill, were he deprived of all other\nmeans of subsistence than the oyster, and having no implement with\nwhich to open it, would be severely puzzled to get at the savory morsel\nshut up in its obstinate valves, yet the Star-fish performs the task\nseemingly without the least difficulty.\n\nHow the Star-fish manages the problem was at first a matter of\nguess-work. For a long time it was confidently believed that the animal\nwaited for the moment when the oyster opened its shell to introduce one\nof its arms into the opening. This much gained, the other four arms\nwere got in without much trouble, and the whole business ended with\nthe devouring of the inmate. This belief is no longer tenable. Careful\nobservation has revealed to us the true inwardness of the proceeding.\nThe oyster is seized between the arms of the Star-fish and held under\nits mouth by the aid of its suckers. Thus secured, the Asterias, or\nStar-fish, everts its stomach, and envelops the whole oyster in its\ninterior recesses, distilling a poisonous fluid, a secretion from its\nmouth, which causes the oyster to open its shell, when the robber, as\nit were, crawls in and takes its dessert. Incredible numbers of oysters\nare destroyed by Star-fishes, but the oystermen fail to see that their\nown barbaric ignorance is largely to blame. Star-fishes drawn up in\nnets, rakes and dredges in immense quantities are tied into bundles,\nbut the cords are made so tight that the pile is cut in twain, the\nresult being that all the pieces, when afterwards thrown overboard,\nbecome new and perfect Star-fishes.\n\n[Illustration: STAR-FISH OPENING AN OYSTER.]\n\nNot often has one the pleasure of meeting with these animals on the\nNew Jersey coast, but yet they are occasionally seen, more frequently,\nperhaps, in the North. _Asterias berylinus_, the commoner form, is\na fairly large species, of a more or less greenish color, sometimes\nwaning to brown, and roughly covered with tubercles. Its five arms, at\nthe extremity of each of which is situated a single red-eye speck, are\nsomewhat irregularly arranged, and not rarely one is stumpy through\nbreakage or unequal development.\n\nWhen a Star-fish is alarmed, or finds itself in strange quarters,\nit will be seen to curl up the tips of its rays, and there under\nthe point of each ray will be found a thick red spot seated on the\nextremity of a nerve, and having in it as many as from one hundred\nto two hundred crystal lenses surrounded by red cells. With such a\nhighly-developed eye, which is far better than the jelly-fish enjoys,\nit is no wonder that the Star-fish is so quick in discerning food,\nor enrages the fisherman by the discovery of the bait which he had\nintended for other animals, for it turns out that this stupid-looking\nanimal is more wide-awake than it is given credit for. Sometimes, as\nin the beautifully delicate Star-fish, called the \u201cLingthorn,\u201d a soft\nlid, or feeler, hangs over the eye-spot, which gives to the creature a\ncuriously intelligent look, but in the case of our common form this lid\nis notably absent.\n\nFrom all that has been written it must be evident that our first\nwalking animal is by no means a poor or feeble creature. He has a chain\narmor woven into his leathery skin, with sharp, pointed spines, and\nsnapping, beak-like claws to protect him; an excellent digestion and a\ncapacious mouth to feed his greedy stomach, and a fine array of nerves,\nquick feeling and eyesight, and a wonderful apparatus for moving over\nthe ground. When it is added to all these possessions the ability to\nclose over the wound in the case of a lost ray and the growing of a new\none, we see that his powers of living satisfactorily are by no means\ninsignificant. But this curious walking apparatus of the Star-fish\nis far from being perfect in all his relations. They do not all walk\nby means of suckers any more than all sponge-animals build toilet\nsponge, or all slime-animals make chambered shells. Sure, the Rosy\nFeather-stars, for example, have no use for feet-tubes, as their lives\nare generally spent upon the rocks or nestled in bunches of sea-weed.\nBrittle-stars, as these are called, though closely related to the\nStar-fishes, are not easily confounded with them, for their arms are\nfound to radiate from a clearly defined central disk, and there is no\nprolongation of their stomachs and ovaries into their interiors. The\ntube-feet pass out from the plates along the sides of the arms, instead\nof from the under surface as in the Star-fishes proper, and probably\nserve merely as a help for breathing, locomotion over the sands being\neffected by their long flexible arms. Their home is chiefly among the\ntangle and eel-grass, where their protecting covering affords them\nsecurity from their many enemies.\n\n\n\n\nEARTH-WORMS IN HISTORY.\n\n\nEarth-worms are found throughout the world. Though few in genera, and\nnot many in species, yet they make up in individual numbers, for it\nhas been estimated that they average about one hundred thousand to the\nacre. Our American species have never been monographed, which renders\nit impossible to judge of their probable number. Their castings may be\nseen on commons, so as to cover almost entirely their surface, where\nthe soil is poor and the grass short and thin, and they are almost as\nnumerous in some of our parks where the grass grows well and the soil\nappears rich. Even on the same piece of ground worms are much more\nfrequent in some places than in others, although no visible difference\nin the nature of the soil is manifest. They abound in paved court-yards\ncontiguous to houses, and on the sidewalks in country towns, and\ninstances have been reported where they have burrowed through the\nfloors of very damp cellars.\n\nBeneath large trees few castings can be found during certain parts\nof the year, and this is apparently due to the moisture having been\nsucked out of the ground by the innumerable roots of the trees, an\nexplanation which seems to be confirmed by the fact that such places\nmay be observed covered with castings after the heavy autumnal rains.\nAlthough most coppices and woods support large numbers of worms, yet\nin forests of certain kinds of tree-growths, where the ground beneath\nis destitute of vegetation, not a casting is seen over wide reaches\nof ground, even during the autumn. In mountainous districts worms are\nmostly rare, it would seem, a circumstance which is perhaps owing to\nthe close proximity of the subjacent rocks, into which it is impossible\nfor them to burrow during the winter, so as to escape being frozen. But\nthere are some exceptions to this rule, for they have been found at\ngreat altitudes in certain parts of the world, and especially is this\nso in India, where they have been observed to be quite numerous upon\nthe mountains.\n\nThough in one sense semi-aquatic animals, like the other members of the\ngreat class of Annelids to which they belong, yet it cannot be denied\nthat earth-worms are terrestrial creatures. Their exposure to the dry\nair of a room for a single night proves fatal to them, while on the\nother hand they have been kept alive for nearly four months completely\nsubmerged in water. During the summer, when the ground is dry, they\npenetrate to a great depth and cease to work, just as they do in winter\nwhen the ground is frozen. They are nocturnal in their habits, and\nmay be seen crawling about in large numbers at night, but generally\nwith their tails still inserted in their burrows. By the expansion of\nthis part of the body, and with the aid of the short reflexed bristles\nwith which they are armed inferiorly, they hold so securely that they\ncan seldom be withdrawn from the ground without being torn in pieces.\nBut during the day, except at the time of pairing, when those which\ninhabit adjoining burrows expose the greater part of their bodies for\nan hour or two in the early morning, they remain in their burrows.\nSick individuals, whose illness is caused by the parasitic larv\u00e6 of a\nfly, must also be excepted, as they wander about during the day and\ndie on the surface. Astonishing numbers of dead worms may sometimes be\nseen lying on the ground after a heavy rain succeeding dry weather, no\nless than a half-hundred in a space of a few square yards, but these\nare doubtless worms that were already sick, whose deaths were merely\nhastened by the ground being flooded, for if they had been drowned\nit is probable, from the facts already given, that they would have\nperished in their burrows.\n\nAfter there has been a heavy rain the film of mud or of very fine sand\nto be seen over gravel-walks in the morning is often distinctly marked\nwith the tracks of worms. From May to August, inclusive, this has been\nnoticed when the months have been wet. Very few dead worms are anywhere\nto be seen on these occasions, although the walks are marked with\ninnumerable tracks, five tracks often being counted crossing a space\nof only an inch square, which could be traced either to or from the\nmouths of the burrows in the gravel-walks for distances varying from\nthree to fifteen yards, but no two tracks being seen to lead to the\nsame burrow. It is not likely, from what is known of the sense-organs\nof these animals, that a worm could find its way back to its burrow\nafter having once left it. They leave their burrows, it would seem, on\na voyage of discovery, and thus they find new sites for the exercise of\ntheir powers. For hours together they may often be seen lying almost\nmotionless beneath the mouths of their burrows. But let the ejected\nearth or rubbish over their burrows be suddenly removed and the end of\nthe worm\u2019s body may be seen rapidly retreating.\n\nThis habit of lying near the surface leads to their destruction to an\nimmense extent, for, at certain seasons of the year, the robins and\nblackbirds that visit our lawns in the country may be observed drawing\nout of their holes an astonishing number of worms, which could not be\ndone unless they lay close to the surface. But what brings the worms\nto the surface? This is a question whose answer cannot be positively\nasserted. It is not probable that they behave in this manner for the\npurpose of breathing fresh air, for it has been seen that they can live\na long time under water. That they are there for the sake of warmth,\nespecially in the morning, is a more reasonable supposition, which\nseems to be confirmed by the fact that they often coat the mouths of\ntheir burrows with leaves, apparently to prevent their bodies from\ncoming into contact with the cold, damp earth, and by the still other\nfact that they completely close their burrows during the winter.\n\nSome remarks about the structure of the earth-worm now appear apropos.\nIts body consists of from one hundred to two hundred almost cylindrical\nrings, each provided with minute bristles. The muscular system is well\ndeveloped, thus enabling these animals to crawl backwards as well as\nforwards, and to retreat by the help of their affixed tails into their\nburrows with extraordinary rapidity. Situated at the anterior end\nof the body is the mouth. It is furnished with a little projection,\nvariously called the lobe or lip, which is used for prehension. Behind\nthe mouth, internally located, is a strong pharynx, which is pushed\nforwards when the animal eats, corresponding, it is said, with the\nprotrudable trunk of other Annelids. The pharynx conducts to the\n\u0153sophagus, on each side of the lower part of which are placed three\npairs of large glands, called calciferous glands, whose function is\nthe secretion of carbonate of lime. These glands are very remarkable\norgans, and their like is not to be found in any other animal. Their\nuse is connected in some way with the process of digestion. The\n\u0153sophagus, in most of the species, is enlarged into a crop in front of\nthe gizzard. This latter organ is lined with a smooth, thick chitinous\nmembrane, and is surrounded by weak, longitudinal, but powerful\ntransverse muscles, whose energetic action is most effectual in the\ntrituration of the food, for these worms possess no jaws, or teeth\nof any kind. Grains of sand and small stones, from the one-twentieth\nto the one-tenth of an inch in size, are found in their gizzards and\nintestines, and these little stones, independently of those swallowed\nwhile excavating their burrows, most probably serve, like millstones,\nto triturate their food. The gizzard opens into the intestine--a most\nremarkable structure, an intestine within an intestine--which runs in a\nstraight line to the vent at the posterior end of the body. But this\ncurious structure, as shown by Clapar\u00e8de, merely consists of a deep\nlongitudinal involution of the walls of the intestine, by which means\nan extensive absorbent surface is secured.\n\nWorms have a well-developed circulating system. Their breathing\nis effected by the skin, and so they do not possess any special\nrespiratory apparatus. Each individual unites the two sexes in its\nown body, but two individuals pair together. The nervous system is\nfairly well developed, the two nearly confluent cerebral ganglia being\nsituated very close to the anterior extremity of the body.\n\nBeing destitute of eyes, we would naturally conclude that worms were\nquite insensible to light; but from many experiments that have been\nmade by Darwin, Hofmeister and others, it is evident that light\naffects them, but only by its intensity and duration. It is the\nanterior extremity of the body, where the cerebral ganglia lie, that is\naffected, for if this part is shaded and other parts of the body are\nilluminated no effect will be produced. As these animals have no eyes,\nit is probable that the light passes through their skins and excites in\nsome manner their cerebral ganglia. When worms are employed in dragging\nleaves into their burrows or in eating them, and even during the brief\nintervals of rest from their labors, they either do not perceive the\nlight or are regardless of it, and this is even the case when the light\nis concentrated upon them through a large lens. Paired individuals will\nremain for an hour or two together out of their burrows, fully exposed\nto the morning light, but it appears, from what some writers have said,\nthat a light will occasionally cause paired individuals to separate.\nWhen a worm is suddenly illuminated and dashes into its burrow, one\nis led to look at the action as a reflex one, the irritation of the\ncerebral ganglia apparently causing certain muscles to contract in an\ninevitable manner, without the exercise of the will or consciousness\nof the animal, as though it was an automaton. But the different effect\nwhich a light produces on different occasions, and especially the fact\nthat a worm when in any way occupied, no matter what set of muscles\nand ganglia may be brought into play, is often regardless of light,\nare antagonistic to the view of the sudden withdrawal being a simple\nreflex action. With the higher animals, when close attention to some\nobject leads to the disregard of the impressions which other objects\nmust be producing upon them, we ascribe this to their attention being\nthen absorbed, and attention necessarily implies the presence of mind.\nAlthough worms cannot be said to possess the power of vision, yet their\nsensitiveness to light enables them to discriminate between day and\nnight, and thus they escape the attacks of the many diurnal animals\nthat would prey upon them. They are less sensitive to a moderate\nradiant heat than to a bright light, as repeated experiments have\nconclusively shown; and their disinclination to leave their burrows\nduring a frost proves that they are sensitive to a low temperature.\n\nInvestigation fails to locate in worms any organ of hearing, from\nwhich must be concluded that they are insensible to sounds. The shrill\nnotes of a metallic whistle sounded near them, and the deepest and\nloudest tones of a bassoon, failed to awaken the least notice. Although\nindifferent to modulations in the air, audible to human ears, yet\nthey are extremely sensitive to vibrations in any solid object. Even\nthe light and delicate tread of a robin affrights and sends them deep\ninto their burrows. It has been said that if the ground is beaten,\nor otherwise made to tremble, that worms believe they are pursued by\na mole and leave their burrows, but this does not stand the test of\nexperiment, for the writer has frequently beaten the ground in many\nplaces where these creatures abounded, but not one emerged. A worm\u2019s\nentire body is sensitive to contact, the slightest puff of air from the\nmouth causing an instant retreat. When a worm first comes out of its\nburrow it generally moves the much-extended anterior extremity of its\nbody from side to side in all directions, apparently as an object of\ntouch, and there is good reason to believe that they are thus enabled\nto gain a general knowledge of the form of an object. Touch, including\nin this term the perception of a vibration, seems much the most highly\ndeveloped of all their senses. The sense of smell is quite feeble, and\nis apparently confined to the perception of certain odors. They are\nquite indifferent to the human breath, even when tainted by tobacco,\nor to a pellet of cotton-wool with a few drops of Millefleur\u2019s perfume\nwhen held by pincers and moved about within a few inches of them. The\nperception of such an unnatural odor would be of no service to them.\nNow, as such timid creatures would almost certainly exhibit some signs\nof any new impression, we may reasonably conclude that they did not\nperceive these odors. But when cabbage leaves and pieces of onion were\nemployed, both of which are devoured with much relish by worms, the\nresult was different. These, with bits of fresh raw meat, have been\nburied in pots beneath one-fourth of an inch of common garden soil, or\nsometimes laid on pieces of tin foil in the earth, the ground being\npressed down slightly, so as not to prevent the emission of any odor,\nand yet they were always discovered by the worms that were placed\nin the pots, and removed after varying periods of time. These facts\nindicate that worms possess some power of smell, and that they discover\nby this means odoriferous and much-coveted kinds of food.\n\nThat all animals which feed on various substances possess the sense of\ntaste, is a wise presumption. This is certainly the case with worms.\nCabbage leaves are much liked by worms, and it would seem that they\nare able to distinguish between the different varieties, but this may\nperhaps be owing to differences in their texture. When leaves of the\ncabbage, horse-radish and onion were given together, they manifestly\npreferred the last to the others. Celery is preferred to the leaves of\nthe cabbage, lime-tree, ampelopsis and parsnip, and the leaves of the\nwild cherry and carrots, especially the latter, to all the others.\nThat the worms have a preference for one taste over another, is still\nfurther shown from what follows. Pieces of the leaves of cabbage,\nturnip, horse-radish and onion have been fed to the worms, mingled with\nthe leaves of an Artemisia and of the culinary sage, thyme and mint,\ndiffering in no material degree in texture from the foregoing four, yet\nquite as strong in taste, but the latter were quite neglected excepting\nthose of the mint, which were slightly nibbled, but the others were all\nattacked and had to be renewed.\n\nThere is little to be noted about the mental qualities of worms. They\nhave been seen to be timid creatures. Their eagerness for certain\nkinds of food manifestly shows that they must enjoy the pleasure of\neating. So strong is their sexual passion that they overcome for a time\ntheir dread of light. They seem to have a trace of social feeling, for\nthey are not disturbed by crawling over each other\u2019s bodies, and they\nsometimes lie in contact. Although remarkably deficient in the several\nsense-organs, yet this does not necessarily preclude intelligence, for\nit has been shown that when their attention is engaged they neglect\nimpressions to which they would otherwise have attended, and attention,\nas is well known, indicates the presence of a mind of some kind. A few\nactions are performed instinctively, that is, all the individuals,\nincluding the young, perform each action in nearly the same manner.\nThe various species of Perich\u00e6ta eject their castings so as to\nconstruct towers, and the burrows of the Common Earth-worm--_Lumbricus\nterrestris_--are smoothly lined with fine earth and often with little\nstones, and the mouth with leaves. One of their strongest instincts is\nthe plugging up of the mouths of their burrows with various objects,\nthe very young worms acting in a similar manner. But some degree of\nintelligence is manifested, as will subsequently appear.\n\nAlmost everything is eaten by worms. They swallow enormous quantities\nof earth, from which they extract any digestible matter it may\ncontain. Large numbers of half-decayed leaves of all kinds, excepting\na few that are too tough and unpleasant to the taste, and likewise\npetioles, peduncles, and decayed flowers. Fresh leaves are consumed\nas well. Particles of sugar, licorice and starch, and bits of raw and\nroasted meat, and preferably raw fat, are eaten when they come into\ntheir possession, but the last article with a better relish than any\nother substance given to them. They are cannibals to a certain extent,\nand have been known to eat the dead bodies of their own companions.\n\nThe digestive fluid of worms, according to Le\u00f3n Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ricq, is analogous\nin nature to the pancreatic secretion of the higher animals, and this\nconclusion agrees perfectly with the kinds of food which they consume.\nPancreatic juice emulsifies fat, dissolves fibrin, and worms greedily\ndevour fat and eat raw meat. It converts starch into grape-sugar with\nwonderful rapidity, and the digestive fluid of worms acts upon the\nstarch of leaves. But worms live chiefly on half-decayed leaves, and\nthese would be useless to them unless they could digest the cellulose\nforming the cell-walls, for all other nutritious substances, as is well\nknown, are almost completely withdrawn from leaves shortly before they\nfall off. It has been ascertained that cellulose, though very little\nor not at all attacked by the gastric juice of the higher animals, is\nacted on by that from the pancreas, and so worms eat the leaves as much\nfor the cellulose as for the starch they contain. The half-decayed or\nfresh leaves which are intended for food are dragged into the mouths\nof their burrows to a depth of from one to three inches, and are then\nmoistened with a secreted fluid, which has been assumed to hasten their\ndecay, but which, from its alkaline nature, and from its acting both\non the starch-granules and on the protoplasmic contents of the cells,\nis not of the nature of saliva, but a pancreatic secretion, and of\nthe same kind as is found in the intestines of worms. As the leaves\nwhich are dragged into the burrows are often dry and shrivelled, it\nis indispensable for the unarmed mouths of worms that they should\nfirst be moistened and softened, their disintegration being thereby the\nmore readily effected. Fresh leaves, however soft and tender they may\nbe, are similarly treated, probably from habit. Thus the leaves are\npartially digested before they are taken into the alimentary canal, an\ninstance of extra-stomachal digestion, whose nearest analogy is to be\nfound in such plants as Dion\u00e6a and Drosera, for in them animal matter\nis digested and converted into peptone, not within a stomach, but on\nthe surfaces of the leaves.\n\nBut no portion of the economy of worms has been more the subject of\nspeculation than the calciferous glands. About as many theories have\nbeen advanced on their utility as there have been observers. Judging\nfrom their size and from their rich supply of blood-vessels, they must\nbe of vast importance to these animals. They consist of three pairs,\nwhich in the Common Earth-worm debouch into the alimentary canal in\nfront of the gizzard, but posteriorly to it, in some genera. The two\nposterior pairs are formed by lamell\u00e6, diverticula from the \u0153sophagus,\nwhich are coated with a pulpy cellular layer, with the outer cells\nlying free in infinite numbers. If one of these glands is punctured\nand squeezed, a quantity of white, pulpy matter exudes, consisting of\nthese free cells, which are minute bodies, varying in diameter from\ntwo to six millimetres. They contain in their centres a small quantity\nof excessively fine granular matter, that looks so like oil globules\nthat many scientists are deceived by its appearance. When treated with\nacetic acid they quickly dissolve with effervescence. An addition of\noxalate of ammonia to the solution throws down a white precipitate,\nshowing that the cells contain carbonate of lime. The two anterior\nglands differ a little in shape from the four posterior ones by being\nmore oval, and also conspicuously in generally containing several\nsmall, or two or three larger, or a single very large concretion of\ncarbonate of lime, as much as one and one-half millimetres in diameter.\nWith respect to the function of the calciferous glands, it is likely\nthat they primarily serve as organs of excretion, and secondarily as\nan aid to digestion. Worms consume many fallen leaves. It is known\nthat lime goes on accumulating in leaves until they drop off the\nparent-plant, instead of being re-absorbed into the stem or roots,\nlike various other organic and inorganic substances, and worms would\ntherefore be liable to become charged with this earth, unless there\nwas some special apparatus for its excretion, and for this purpose the\ncalciferous glands are ably adapted. On the other hand, the carbonate\nof lime, which is excreted by the glands, aids the digestive process\nunder ordinary circumstances. Leaves during their decay generate an\nabundance of various kinds of acids, which have been grouped together\nunder the term of humus acids. These half-decayed leaves, which are\nswallowed by worms in large quantities, would, therefore, after having\nbeen moistened and triturated in the alimentary canal, be apt to\nproduce such acids, and in the case of several worms, whose alimentary\ncanals were examined, their contents were plainly shown by litmus\npaper to be decidedly acid. This acidity cannot be attributed to the\nnature of the digestive fluid, for pancreatic juice is alkaline,\nand so also is the secretion which is poured out of the mouths of\nworms for the preparation of the leaves for consumption. With worms\nnot only the contents of the intestines, but their ejected matter\nor the castings are generally acid. The digestive fluid of worms\nresembles in its action, as already stated, the pancreatic secretion\nof the higher animals, and in these latter pancreatic digestion is\nnecessarily alkaline, and the action will not take place unless some\nalkali be present; and the activity of an alkaline juice is arrested\nby acidification, and hindered by neutralization. Therefore is seems\nprobable that innumerable calciferous cells, which are emptied from\nthe four posterior glands in the alimentary canal, serve to neutralize\nmore or less completely the acids generated there by the half-decayed\nleaves. These cells, as has been seen, are instantly dissolved by a\nsmall quantity of acetic acid, and as they do not always suffice to\nrender of no effect the contents of the upper part of the alimentary\ncanal, it is probable that the lime is aggregated into concretions,\nin the anterior pair of glands, in order that some may be conveyed to\nthe posterior parts of the intestine, where these concretions would\nbe rolled about among the acid contents. The concretions found in the\nintestines and in the castings often present a worn appearance, but\nwhether due to attrition or chemical corrosion it is impossible to\nsay. That they are formed for the sake of acting as mill stones, as\nClapar\u00e8de believed, and of thus assisting in the trituration of food,\nis not at all likely, as this object is already attained by the stones\nthat are present in the gizzards and intestines.\n\nIn dragging leaves into their burrows worms generally seize the thin\nedge of a leaf with their mouths, between the projecting upper and\nlower lip, the thick and strong pharynx at the same time being pushed\nforwards within their bodies, so as to afford a _point de resistance_\nfor the upper lip; but in the case of broad and flat objects the\npointed anterior extremity of the body, after being brought into\ncontact with an object of this kind, is drawn within the adjoining\nrings, so that it becomes truncated and as thick as the rest of the\nbody. This part is then seen to swell a little, seemingly from the\npharynx being pushed a little forwards. By a slight withdrawal of\nthe pharynx, or by its expansion, a vacuum is produced beneath the\ntruncated, slimy end of the body whilst in contact with the object,\nand by this means the two adhere firmly together. Worms can attach\nthemselves to an object in the same manner under the water.\n\n[Illustration: COMMON EARTH-WORMS.\n\nOut on a Foraging Excursion.]\n\nAs worms have no teeth, and their mouths consist of very soft tissue,\nit may be presumed that they consume by means of suction of the edges\nand parenchyma of fresh leaves after they have been softened by the\ndigestive fluid. They cannot attack such strong leaves as those of\nsea-kale or large and thick leaves of ivy. They not only seize leaves\nand other objects for purposes of food, but for plugging up the mouths\nof their burrows. Flower-peduncles, decayed twigs of trees, bits of\npaper, feathers, tufts of wool and horse-hair are some of the many\nthings other than leaves that are dragged into their burrows for this\npurpose. Many hundred leaves of the pine-tree have been found drawn by\ntheir bases into burrows. Where fallen leaves are abundant, especially\nordinary dicotyledonous leaves, many more than can be used are\ncollected over the mouth of a burrow, so that a small pile of unused\nleaves is left like a roof over those which have been partly dragged\nin. A leaf in being dragged a little way into a cylindrical burrow\nnecessarily becomes much folded or crumpled, and when another is drawn\nin, this is done exteriorly to the first, and so on with succeeding\nleaves, till finally they all become closely folded and pressed\ntogether. Sometimes the mouth of a burrow is enlarged, or a fresh one\nis made close by, so that a larger number of leaves may be drawn in.\nGenerally the interstices between the drawn-in leaves are filled with\nmoist, viscid earth ejected from their bodies, thus rendering them\ndoubly secure. Hundreds of such plugged burrows may be seen during the\nautumnal and early winter months.\n\nWhen leaves, petioles, sticks, etc., cannot be obtained for the mouths\nof their burrows, heaps of stones, smooth, rounded pebbles, are\nutilized for protection. When the stones are removed and the surface\nof the ground is cleared for some inches round the burrow, the worms\nmay be seen with their tails fixed in their burrows dragging the\nstones inward by the aid of their mouths, stones weighing as much as\ntwo ounces often being found in the little heaps, which goes to show\nhow strong these apparently weak creatures are. Work of this kind\nis usually performed during the night, although objects have been\noccasionally known to be drawn into the burrows during the day. What\nadvantage worms derive from plugging up the mouths of their burrows,\nor from piling stones over them, cannot be satisfactorily answered.\nThey do not act in this manner when they eject much earth from their\nburrows, for then their castings serve to cover the mouth. Perhaps the\nplugs serve to protect them from the attacks of scolopenders, their\nmost inveterate enemies, or to enable them to remain with safety with\ntheir heads close to the mouths of their burrows, which they like so\nwell to do, but which, unless protected, costs many a fellow its life.\nBesides, may not the plugs check the free ingress of the lowest stratum\nof air, when chilled by radiation at night, from the surrounding ground\nand herbage? The last view of the matter seems especially well taken,\nbecause worms kept in pots where there is fire, having no cold air\nwith which to contend, plug up their burrows in a slovenly manner, and\nbecause they often coat the upper part of their burrows with leaves,\napparently to prevent their bodies from coming into contact with the\ncold, damp earth. But the plugging-up process may undoubtedly serve\nfor all these purposes. Whatever the motive may be, it seems that\nworms much dislike leaving the mouths of their burrows open, yet,\nnevertheless, they will reopen them at night, whether or not they are\nable afterwards to close them.\n\nConsiderable intelligence is shown by worms in their manner of plugging\nup their burrows. If man had to plug up a cylindrical hole with such\nobjects as leaves, petioles or twigs, he would push them in by their\npointed ends, but if these were thin relatively to the size of the\nhole, he would probably insert some by their broader ends. Intelligence\nwould certainly be his guide in such a case. But how worms would drag\nleaves into their burrows, whether by their tips, bases, or middle\nparts, has been a matter of interest to many. Darwin, who experimented\nupon the subject, found it especially desirable to experiment with\nplants not native to his country, for he conceived that although the\nhabit of dragging leaves into their burrows is undoubtedly instinctive\nwith worms, yet instinct could not teach them how to act in the case of\nleaves about which their progenitors knew nothing. Did they act solely\nthrough instinct, or an unvarying inherited impulse, they would draw\nall kinds of leaves into their burrows in the same manner. Having no\nsuch definite instinct, chance might be expected to determine whether\nthe tip, base, or middle might be seized. If the worm in each case\nfirst tries many different methods, and follows that alone which proves\npossible or the most easy, then both instinct and chance are ruled out\nof the solution of the question. But to act in this manner, and to try\ndifferent methods, makes what in man would be called intelligent action.\n\nThree species of pine-leaves are mentioned by Darwin as being regularly\ndrawn into the mouths of worm-burrows on the gravel-walk in his garden.\nThese leaves consist of two needles, which are united to a common base,\nand it is by this point that they are almost invariably drawn into\nthe burrows. As the sharply-pointed needles diverge somewhat, and\nas several are drawn into the same burrow, each tuft forms a perfect\n_chevaux-de-frise_. Many tufts were pulled up in the evening, but\nby the ensuing morning fresh leaves had taken their places, and the\nburrows again well protected. Impossible it would be to drag these\nleaves to any depth into the burrows, except by their bases, as a\nworm cannot seize hold of the two leaves at the same time, and if one\nalone were seized by the apex, the other would be pressed against the\nground and resist the entry of the one that was seized. That the worms\nshould do their work well, it was very essential that they drag the\npine-leaves into their burrows by their bases, that is, where the two\nneedles are conjoined. But how they are guided in this work was at\nfirst perplexing. The difficulty, however, was soon settled. With the\nassistance of his son Francis, the elder Darwin set to work to observe\nworms in confinement during several nights by the aid of a dim light,\nwhile they dragged the leaves of the aforementioned kinds into their\nburrows. They were seen to move the anterior extremities of their\nbodies about the leaves, and on several occasions when they touched\nthe sharp end of the needle they suddenly withdrew as though they had\nbeen pricked, but it is doubtful that they were hurt, for they are\nindifferent to sharp objects, being known to swallow rose-thorns and\nsmall splinters of glass. It may be doubted whether the sharp end of\nthe needle serves to tell them that is the wrong end to seize, for the\npoints of many were cut off for the length of an inch, and these leaves\nwere always drawn in by their bases and not by the cut-off ends. The\nworms, it seemed, almost instantly perceived as soon as they had seized\na leaf in the proper manner. Many leaves were cemented together at the\ntop, or tied together by fine thread, and these in the majority of\ninstances were dragged in by their bases, which leads to the conclusion\nthat there must be something attractive to worms in the base of\npine-leaves, notwithstanding that few ordinary leaves are drawn in by\ntheir base or footstalk. Leaves of other plants, and also the petioles\nof some compound plants, as well as triangular bits of paper, dry and\ndamp, were experimented with, and the manner of seizing the objects and\nbearing them into their burrows were as amusing as they were novel and\ninteresting. The leaves and stems used were such as the worms had not\nbeen accustomed to in their respective haunts.\n\nWhen the several cases experimented on are considered, one can hardly\nescape from the conclusion that some degree of intelligence is shown\nby worms in plugging up their burrows. Each particular object is\nseized in too uniform a manner, and from causes which we can generally\nunderstand, for the result to be attributed to mere chance. That every\nobject has not been drawn in by its pointed end may be accounted for\nby labor having been saved by some being carried in by their broader\nends. There is no doubt that worms are governed by instinct in plugging\nup their burrows, and it might be expected that they would have been\ntaught in every particular instance how to act independently of\nintelligence. It is very difficult to judge when intelligence comes\ninto play. The actions of animals, appearing due to intelligence,\nmay be performed through inherited habit without any intelligence,\nalthough aboriginally acquired, or the habit may be acquired through\nthe preservation and inheritance of some other action, and in the\nlatter case the new habit will have been acquired independently of\nintelligence throughout the entire course of its development. There is\nno _\u00e0 priori_ improbability in worms having acquired special instincts\nthrough either of these two latter means. Nevertheless it is incredible\nthat instincts should have been developed in reference to objects, such\nas the leaves and petioles of foreign plants, wholly unknown to the\nprogenitors of the worms which have acted in the manner just described.\nNor are their actions so unvarying or inevitable as are most true\ninstincts.\n\nAs worms are not controlled by special instincts in each particular\ncase, though possessing a general instinct to plug up their burrows,\nand as chance is excluded, the next most probable conclusion is that\nthey try in many ways to draw in objects and finally succeed in some\none way. It is surprising, however, that an animal so low in the scale\nas a worm should have the capacity to act in this way, as many higher\nanimals have no such capacity, the instincts of the latter often being\nfollowed in a senseless or purposeless manner.\n\nWe can safely infer intelligence, as Mr. Romanes, who has specially\nstudied animals, says, only when we see an individual profiting by his\nown experiences. That worms are able to judge either before or after\nhaving drawn an object close to the mouths of their burrows how best\nto drag it in, shows that they must have acquired some notion of its\ngeneral shape. This they probably acquire by touching it in many places\nwith the anterior extremity of their bodies, which serves them as a\ntactile organ. Man, even when born blind and deaf, shows how perfect\nthe sense of touch may become, and if worms, which also come into being\nin the same condition, have the power of acquiring some notion, however\nrude, of the shape of an object and their burrows, they deserve, it\nmust seem to every sensible mind, to be called intelligent creatures,\nfor they act in such a case in nearly the same manner as a man would\nunder similar circumstances. That worms, which stand so low in the\nscale of organization, should possess some degree of intelligence,\nwill doubtless strike everyone as very improbable. It may be doubted,\nhowever, whether we know enough about the nervous system of the lower\nanimals to justify our natural distrust of such a conclusion. With\nregard to the small size of the cerebral ganglia, we would do well\nto remember what a mass of inherited knowledge, with some power of\nadapting means to an end, is crowded into the minute brain of a worker\nant.\n\nTwo ways are adopted by worms in excavating their burrows. Either the\nearth is pushed away on all sides or it is swallowed by the animal.\nIn the former case the worm inserts the stretched-out and attenuated\nanterior extremity of its body into any little crevice or hole, and the\npharynx is pushed forward into this part, which consequently swells\nand pushes away the earth on all sides, the anterior extremity thus\nacting as a wedge. When placed in loose mould a worm will bury itself\nin between two and three minutes, but in earth that is moderately\npressed down it often requires as many as fifteen minutes for its\ndisappearance. But whenever a worm burrows to a depth of several feet\nin undisturbed compact ground, it must form its passage by swallowing\nthe earth, for it is impossible that the ground could yield on all\nsides to the pressure of the pharynx when pushed forward within the\nworm\u2019s body. Great depths are reached only during continued dry weather\nand severe cold, the burrows sometimes attaining to a depth of from\nseven to eight feet. The burrows run down perpendicularly, or, more\ncommonly, obliquely, and are sometimes said to branch. Generally, or\ninvariably as I think, they are lined with fine, dark-colored earth\nvoided by the worm, so that at first they must be made a little wider\nthan their ultimate diameter. Little globular pellets of voided earth,\nstill soft and viscid, often dot the walls of fresh burrows, and these\nare spread out on all sides by the worm as it travels up or down its\nburrow, the lining thus formed becoming very compact and smooth when\nnearly dry and closely fitting the worm\u2019s body. Excellent points of\nsupport are thus afforded for the minute reflexed bristles which\nproject in rows on all sides from the body, thus rendering the burrow\nwell adapted for the rapid movement of the animal. The lining appears\nalso to strengthen the walls, and perhaps saves the worm\u2019s body from\nbeing scratched, which would assuredly be the case when the burrows,\nas is occasionally observed, pass through a layer of sifted coal\ncinders. The burrows are thus seen to be not mere excavations, but\nmay be compared with tunnels lined with cement. Those which run far\ndown into the ground generally, or at least frequently, terminate in\nlittle chambers, where one or several worms pass the winter rolled up\ninto a ball. Small pebbles and seeds as large as grains of mustard are\ncarried down from the surface by being swallowed or within the mouths\nof worms, as well as bits of glass and tile, whose only use in their\nwinter-quarters seems to be the prevention of their closely coiled-up\nbodies from coming into contiguity with the surrounding cold soil, for\nsuch contact would perhaps interfere with their respiration, which is\neffected by the skin alone.\n\nAfter swallowing earth, whether for making its burrow or for food, the\nearth-worm soon comes to the surface to empty its body. The rejected\nmatter is thoroughly mixed with the intestinal secretions, and is thus\nrendered viscid. After becoming dried, it sets hard. When in a very\nliquid state the earth is thrown out in little spurts, and when not so\nliquid by a slow peristaltic movement of the intestine. It is not cast\nindifferently on any side, but first on one and then on another, the\ntail being used almost like a trowel. The little heap being formed the\nworm seemingly avoids, for the sake of safety, the use of its tail,\nthe earthy matter being forced up through the previously deposited\nsoft mass. The mouth of the same burrow is used for this purpose for a\nconsiderable time. When a worm comes to the surface to eject earth, the\ntail protrudes, but when it collects leaves its head must protrude, and\nthus worms must have the power of performing the difficult feat, as it\nseems to us, of turning round in their closely-fitting burrows. Worms\ndo not always eject their castings upon the surface of the ground,\nfor when burrowing in newly turned-up earth, or between the stems of\nbanked-up plants, they deposit their castings in such places, and even\nhollows beneath large stems lying on the surface of the ground are\nfilled up with their ejections. Old burrows collapse in time. The fine\nearth voided by worms, if spread out uniformly, would form in many\nplaces a layer of one-fifth of an inch in thickness. But this large\namount is not deposited within the old unused burrows. If the burrows\ndid not collapse, the whole ground would be first thickly riddled with\nholes to the depth of ten inches or more, which in fifty years would\ngrow into a hollow, unsupported place ten inches deep.\n\nHardly any animal is more universally distributed than worms. The\nearth-worm is found in all parts of the world, and some of the genera\nhave an enormous range. They inhabit the most isolated islands,\nabounding in Iceland, and also being known to exist in the West Indies,\nSt. Helena, Madagascar, New Caledonia and Tahiti. Worms from Kergulen\nLand in the Antarctic regions have been described by Ray Lankester,\nand Darwin has reported them as being found in the Falkland Islands.\nHow they reach such isolated islands is quite unknown. They are easily\nkilled by salt water, and it does not seem likely that young worms or\ntheir egg-capsules could be carried in earth adhering to the feet or\nbeaks of land-birds, especially to Kergulen Land, for it is not now\ninhabited by any terrestrial bird.\n\nWe have seen that worms are found in nearly every part of the globe,\nthat they are very numerous, as many as 348,480 having been found in an\nacre of rich ground in New Zealand, and that by the peculiar economy\nof their nature they are fitted to accomplish a great deal of good\nin the earth. They have played a more important part in the history\nof the world than most persons would at first suppose. In many parts\nof England, according to Darwin, a weight of more than ten tons of\ndry earth annually passes through their bodies and is brought to the\nsurface in each acre of land, so that the entire superficial bed of\nvegetable mould passes through their bodies in the course of every few\nyears; and in most parts of the forests and pasture-lands of Southern\nBrazil, where several species of earth-worms abound, the whole soil to\na depth of a quarter of a metre looks as though it had passed through\nthe intestines of worms, even where scarcely any castings are to be\nobserved upon the surface. The upper crust is continually being eaten\nand ejected by them, thus aiding the fertility of the soil, as well as\nconveying water and air to the interior by the myriads of burrows which\nthey drill. The vast quantities of leaves that they drag into their\nholes tend also to enrich the ground. Nor does their good end here.\nThey cover up seeds, undermine rocks, burying them up, and to their\nlabors is due the preservation of many ruins and ancient works of art.\nNumerous old-time Roman villas have been discovered beneath the ground\nin England, whose entombments were undoubtedly caused by the worms that\nundermined them and deposited their castings upon the floors, till\nfinally, aided by other causes, they disappeared from sight.\n\nWhen a wide, turf-covered expanse of earth is beheld, we would do well\nto remember that its smoothness, upon which so much of its beauty\ndepends, is largely due to all the inequalities having been slowly\nlevelled by worms. That all the surface-mould of any such expanse has\npassed, and will again pass, every few years through the bodies of\nworms is a marvellous reflection, and one which should not be lightly\ndismissed from the mind. The most ancient, as well as one of the most\nvaluable of man\u2019s inventions, is the plough. But long before man\nexisted the land was in fact regularly ploughed, and still continues\nto be ploughed, by earth-worms. No other animal has played such a part\nin history as have these lowly-organized creatures. True it is that\ncorals, which are still lower in the scale of animals, have performed\nmore conspicuous work in the innumerable reefs and islands they have\nbuilt in the great oceans, but their work is confined to the tropical\nzones, while that of the earth-worm is well-nigh universal. Verily it\nis by the little things in life that the Creator has erected the most\nstupendous monuments to show forth His infinite power and wisdom.\n\n\n\n\nFIDDLER- AND HERMIT-CRABS.\n\n\nAmong our first acquaintances of the sea-shore are sure to be a number\nof merry little sprites which do not seem to have yet mastered the\nlesson of walking straight ahead. Their movements will be seen to be\nin a direction at right angles to that towards which the head points.\nIt is a very interesting sight to watch these apparently one-sided\ncreatures hurrying off in their lateral progression towards their\nburrows in the sand or mud, or in quest of food. Pass them, and you\nwill be surprised to see how quickly some of them will reverse their\nmotion, seemingly without so much as pausing to glance at their\npursuer, their machinery appearing to have given out at one end, thus\ncompelling them to reverse and travel back over their old courses.\n\nThese little Fiddler- or Calling-crabs, as they are termed, are the\nmost pronounced offenders against the commonly accepted rule of proper\nwalking. Scattered all over the salt marshes and mud-flats, at about\nhigh-water mark, may be noted their burrows, which are about as large\nas a thrust made by an umbrella point, and from which can be frequently\nseen the little animal peeping forth, preparatory to making a sally.\nAt another part of the flat, where the noise of your footsteps has not\ngiven signals of danger, hundreds of crabblings are busy with their\nout-door occupations. Draw near to them, and away they scamper to their\ndwellings, males and females intermingled promiscuously, the former\nrecognizable by the undue development of one of the claws, which is\ncarried transversely in front of the head. When the animal is provoked,\nthis claw is brandished in a somewhat menacing manner, which has been\nlikened by some to the pulling of a violin bow, and by others to the\naction of beckoning or calling, and hence the names which have been\napplied to these eccentric creatures.\n\nHave you a desire for a more intimate knowledge of the animal, take him\nup by the big claw, and you can now examine him without the least fear\nof incurring the proofs of his displeasure. Two bead-like, compound\neyes, supported on long stalks, which can be readily withdrawn into the\nprotecting shield of the carapace, will be observed. From the manner\nof this support, which allows of vision in almost every direction, the\nname of stalk-eyed crustaceans has been given to the group in which\nthis structure is found. The two pairs of feelers, which you see in\nfront of the eyes, are known as antenn\u00e6 and antennules. They are of\npeculiar interest, for, aside from acting as feelers, they subserve\nthe functions of smelling and hearing, the auditory apparatus being\nlodged in the base of the smaller pair. There are ten feet, and this\nis a character of importance, as it is a feature distinctive of the\nten-footed, or decapod, crustaceans. At first sight it appears that the\nanimal is devoid of a tail, but if you turn him over upon his back you\nwill find a very short one tucked safely under the body. A comparison\nof our study of this crab with that of the lobster or cray-fish will\nshow that the tail, or, more properly, the abdomen, is stretched out\nbeyond the body proper, and that the elongation is in proportion to the\nlength of the animal. Two distinct groups of ten-legged, stalk-eyed\ncrustaceans are thus recognized, namely: the short-tailed forms, or\ncrabs, and the opposite, or long-tailed forms, to which the lobster and\nshrimp belong, the hermit-crabs constituting an intermediate type.\n\nTwo species of the Fiddler, considerably resembling each other in\ncolor and ornamentation, are to be found upon our Atlantic Coast. The\nmore common form, _Gelasimus vocator_, has a smooth, shining carapace,\nwhile that of _Gelasimus minax_ is finely granulated and in part\ntuberculated, the back of both appearing impressed with a figure very\nsimilar to the letter H. The latter, which appears to be a vegetable\nfeeder, is the larger, its burrows not infrequently measuring one and a\nhalf inches in diameter. Estuarine regions, in close proximity to fresh\nwater, rather than the tidal flats, are its habitat, and, in truth, it\nseems to be able to get along for weeks, and even months, without any\nabsolute need of salt water.\n\n[Illustration: FIDDLER-CRABS.\n\nTwo Males Fighting for a Female.]\n\nIn the excavation of their homes the Fiddlers throw up the pellets of\nmoist earth by means of their anterior walking legs, depositing their\nburden usually at some little distance from the mouth of the burrow.\nAs winter approaches, the domiciliary apertures are closed up, and the\nfamine of winter is spent in a state of torpidity.\n\nWith the advent of spring they come forth from their brumal retreats,\nand soon concern themselves with the duties incident to the propagation\nof their kind. Two males are often observed contending in the fiercest\nmanner for the possession of a female. They strike with the formidable\nclaw most powerful blows, and I have often seen an opponent so\ncompletely claw-locked as to be unutterly unable to make any determined\nresistance. These contests last a long while, and finally conclude\nwith the complete vanquishment of one or the other of the fighting\nparties, one or both sustaining at times some severe injury as the loss\nof an eye-peduncle or the joint of a limb. All the while the battle\nis waging, the female is a silent, passive spectator, and generally\nallies herself with the successful competitor for her affections. Even\nduring the summer season, when the cares of brood-raising no longer\ncommand and enslave the attention of the female, these combats are\nstill indulged in by the males, growing out of, as it would seem, the\nlingering smarts of old animosities festering in the memory. While\nthese carcinological lords of the sea-side are eminently fitted for\nthe sparring business, the whole physiognomy of their smaller, weaker\npartners bespeaks a life in which broils can have no part, a life\ndevoted to peaceful and domestic pursuits.\n\nDiffering widely in structure and habits from the Calling-crabs,\nand affecting watery situations near the shore, are to be found the\nHermit-crabs. These sprightly little animals, which are usually of\nsmall size, and have truly habits of their own, that stamp them at\nonce as being original and distinctive, are a source of never-failing\ndelight to the student of nature. They derive their name, as is well\nknown, from the seclusion into which they cast themselves as the\ninhabitants of the shells of other animals, but it is probably not\ngenerally known, however, that the rights of tenantry are oftentimes\nexercised in the most arbitrary manner. Not always satisfied with\na dead shell, the Hermit-crab has been seen to raid upon a living\npossessor and attempt to drag him from his home, in which operation the\nassailant is often assisted by a number of his fellows, each bearing\nwith him his castle as defensive armor. True, the attack is probably\nmade in many instances for the purpose of getting possession of the\nenemy as well as his belongings, and, however this may be, forcible\npossession is by them considered no misdemeanor.\n\nThe body of the Hermit-crab, in the greater number of species, is\nunprovided with a carapace, and, being soft and liable to injury,\nthe animal is compelled to seek shelter usually in a snail-shell,\nwinding himself about the coils, to the inner extremity of which he\nattaches himself by his modified posterior feet. So securely is he\nnow intrenched that it is only with difficulty he can be withdrawn,\nretracting himself as he does further and further within cover of the\nshell. A sudden fracture of the apex of the shell, under which appears\nto be the most delicate part of the animal\u2019s body, will generally\neffect a speedy dislodgment, the frightened Crab dropping from the\naperture.\n\nWith his progressive development in size the Hermit requires frequent\nchanges of abode. His methods in securing a new habitation are among\nthe most interesting of his life. He is very circumspect in his\nmovements, and will make several reconnoissances before he is fully\nsatisfied with the conditions of his prospective home, retiring after\neach visit to the old shell.\n\n[Illustration: Copyright 1900 by A. R. DUGMORE.\n\nCRAB WAITING FOR FOOD UNDER A ROCK.\n\nFrom a photograph taken through water.]\n\nLike many bipeds, he has his first of May, and so he goes\nhouse-hunting. He finds a shell. Will it do? He examines it within,\nfeelingly if not courteously, to see whether it is to let. Satisfied on\nthis point, he turns it over, then turns it round, to know if it will\nsuit, the weight of the house being quite an item in the reckoning to\none who is to carry it upon his back. All things being right, his mind\nis made up to move, and quickly, too, at that, lest he miss his chance\nthrough some more active fellow house-hunter who is on the alert. Out\ncomes the body from the old house, and pop it goes into the new. The\nresolution to move, the surrender of the old house, and the occupancy\nof the new, were all effected within a fraction of a second of time.\n\n[Illustration: WARTY HERMIT-CRABS.\n\nOne at Home, the Other House-Hunting.]\n\nBut the matter does not always go on pleasantly. Two house-hunters may\nfind the same tenement. Should they both desire it, then comes the tug\nof war. Dwell together they neither can nor will. Recourse is had to\nbattle, in which the stronger proves his claim right by the rule of\nmight. In these encounters terrible mutilations quite often occur.\n\nAs an offset to all this bad feeling and bloodshed, it is a sad sight\nto see the little Hermit when his time comes to die. However droll\nhis career may have been, he is now very grave, for he knows he must\npart with life and all its joys and pleasures. Who can explain the\nstrange fact? The poor little fellow comes out of his house to die.\nYes, to die. To us humans home is the only fit place to die in, but\nto Eupagurus it has no attractions at this solemn time. Poor fellow!\nWith a sad look and a melancholy movement he quits of his own will the\nhouse for which he fought so well. Those feelers that often stood out\nso provokingly, and that were quite as often poked into everybody\u2019s\nbusiness, now lie prone and harmless; the eyes have lost their\npertness, and dead, stone dead, the houseless Hermit lies upon that\nmoss-covered rock.\n\nThere are two species of Hermit-crab occurring on our coast, which\nare readily distinguishable from each other by their size and the\ndifference in the shape of the big claw. _Eupagurus pollicaris_, the\nWarty Hermit, is the larger species. He inhabits the shells of the big\nNaticas and the Fulgurs, and can be easily recognized by his coarse,\nbroad claws, which close up in great part the aperture of the shell\nwhich he occupies. In the more common form, _Eupagurus longicarpus_,\nwhich seldom attains a length exceeding an inch, the legs are all much\nelongated, giving the animal a very slender appearance.\n\n\n\n\nFUNNEL-WEB BUILDER.\n\n\nSimple nests and tubes are all the majority of spiders construct for\ntheir homes. The larger and better known webs for catching insects are\nmade by comparatively few species. He who is astir in the grass-fields\non damp summer mornings, will everywhere see innumerous flat webs, from\nan inch or two to a foot in diameter, which weather-wise folks consider\nprognostic of a fair day. These webs may always be found upon the grass\nat the proper season, but only become visible from a distance when\nthe dew is upon them, making the earth appear as covered by an almost\ncontinuous carpet of silk.\n\nBy far the greater number of these nests is of the form which is termed\nfunnel-webs, which consist of a concave sheet of silk, constituted of\nstrong threads, crossed by finer ones, which the author spins with the\nlong hind-spinnerets, swinging them from side to side, and laying down\na band of threads at each stroke, the many hundred threads extending in\nall directions to the supporting spears of grass. The web is so close\nand tight that the footsteps of the spider can be distinctly heard by\nthe attentive, listening ear as she runs hither and thither over its\nscarcely bending surface. At one side of the web is a tube, leading\ndown among the grass-stems, which serves as a hiding-place for the\nowner of the web. Here, at the top, and just out of sight, the spider\nordinarily stands, waiting for something to light upon the web, when\nshe eagerly rushes out, seizing the prey unluckily caught and carrying\nit into her tube to eat. If too formidable an insect comes upon the\nweb, she turns herself round, beating a precipitate retreat out of the\nlower end of her funnel and soon is lost beneath the mesh of enveloping\nand interlacing grasses.\n\nWhere favorably located, these webs remain through the entire season,\nand are enlarged, as the spider grows, by additions on the outer edges,\nand are supported by threads running up into the neighboring plants.\nSometimes the webs are built in close proximity to a stone partially\nimbedded in the earth, the bottom of the funnel opening slightly\nunderneath the stone, which secures to the spider a convenient harbor\nin case of threatening danger.\n\nAgalenid\u00e6, as our funnel-web weavers are called, are long-legged, brown\nspiders, in which the head part of the cephalo-thorax is higher than\nthe thoracic part, and distinctly separated from it by grooves or marks\nat the sides. The eyes are usually in two rows, but in Agalena the\nmiddle eyes of both rows are much higher than the others. The feet have\nthree claws, and the posterior pairs of spinnerets are two-jointed and\nusually longer than the others. _Agalena n\u00e6via_, the technical name of\nour Common Grass Spider, abounds in all parts of the United States, but\nits very commonness is the principal reason why it is so little known\nexcept by the trained naturalist, its very familiarity leading the\naverage man and woman to look upon it with contempt.\n\n[Illustration: AGALENA AND HER FUNNEL-WEB.\n\nHouse-Fly, Caught in the Toils, Becomes a Victim.]\n\nPersons unfamiliar with spiders find it difficult to distinguish the\nyoung from the old, and male from female. This is caused, in part, by\nthe great differences between different ages and sexes of the same\nspider, on account of which they are supposed to belong to distinct\nspecies. The adult males and females, however, are easily distinguished\nfrom each other, and from the young, by the complete development of\norgans peculiar to each sex, the palpal organs on the ends of the palpi\nin the males, and the epigynum, a hard swollen place just in front\nof the opening of the ovaries in the females. Usually the males are\nsmaller than their partners, and have, in proportion to their size,\nsmaller abdomens and longer legs. They are generally darker colored,\nespecially on the head and front part of the body, and markings which\nare distinct in the female coalesce and become darker in the male. In\nmost species these differences are not very great, but in some, Argiope\nand Nephila for examples, where the males are about one-tenth as large\nas the females, one would hardly suppose, without other evidence, that\nthe males and females had any relationship to each other. The palpal\norgans and the epigynum are sexual characters which do not attain their\nfunctional value until after the last moult has been effected.\n\nSpiders are naturally very selfish creatures. Their chief concern in\nlife seems to be the gratification of their desires for food. They are\neminently unsocial, the sexes preferring to live solitary lives. It is\nonly when actuated by amatory influences that the females will tolerate\ntheir weaker lords, and in some instances it is only by stratagem\nand agility that the latter are able to accomplish the fulfilment of\nthe law of their being, the females by their ugly, vicious tempers\nresisting to the utmost. In the case of Agalena the male is the\nstronger of the two. He, at the proper time, when the reproductive\ncells are matured, takes the female in his powerful mandibles, lays\nher gently on one side, and inserts one of his palpi, whose little\nsacs had previously been filled with the fecundating discharge, into\nthe epigynum underneath. After a time, necessarily brief, he rises on\ntiptoe, turns her around and over, so that she comfortably lies on the\nother side, her head being in the opposite direction, and inserts the\nother palpus. All through the operation the female lies as though she\nwas dead. The ends of nature being served, the sexes separate, the male\nreturning to the solitary life he previously led, while the female\nbusies herself in providing for the duties of maternity.\n\nThe eggs becoming mature, the latter proceeds to make a little web\nand lays them in it, practising the utmost care. She now covers them\nover with silk, which she weaves into a cocoon, where the young remain\nsome time after they are hatched. Seldom is the laying seen, for it\ngenerally happens in the night-time, or in retired places. Often, in\nconfinement, the spider refuses to lay at all. An egg of a spider, like\nthat of any other animal, is a cell which separates from the body of\nthe female, and subsequently unites with one or more cells that have\nseparated from the body of the male. This process of union, termed\nfertilization, doubtless takes place when the eggs have attained their\nfull size and are about to be laid. After being laid and hardened it is\na very easy matter to watch their development. All that is necessary\nto be done is to cover the egg to be examined with oil, alcohol or any\nliquid that will wet it, for this tends to make the shell transparent.\nEggs laid in summer are ready to hatch in a fortnight, while those\nlaid in autumn develop slowly all through the winter. A day or two are\noccupied in hatching. When the time has arrived the shell, or more\nproperly the skin, cracks along the lines between the legs, and comes\noff in rags, and the spider slowly stretches itself and creeps about.\nPale and soft it appears, and devoid of hairs or spines, but its feet\nare armed with small claws. In two or three days it gets rid of another\nskin, and begins to assume a spider-like appearance, the eyes becoming\ndark-colored, the thoracic marks growing more distinct, and a dark\nstripe appearing across the edge of each segment of the abdomen. The\nhairs are now long, but few in number, and arranged in rows across the\nabdomen and along the middle of the thorax. Before the next moult they\nusually forsake the cocoon, and live together for a short time in a web\nspun in common. Where larger broods of young spiders live together,\nthey soon show cannibal-like qualities, and if kept in confinement one\nor two out of a cocoon-full may be raised without recourse to any other\nfood.\n\nAs spiders grow larger, they must moult from time to time. This is an\ninteresting process. The spider hangs herself by a thread from the\nspinnerets to the centre of the web. In a short time the skin cracks\naround the thorax, just over the first joints of the legs, and the\ntop part falls forward, being held only at the front edge. The skin\nof the abdomen now breaks irregularly along the sides and back, and\nshrinks together in a bunch, leaving the spider suspended only by a\nshort thread from the spinnerets, her legs still being trammelled by\nthe old skin. Fifteen minutes of violent exertion releases her from the\nencumbrance, when she drops down, hanging by her spinnerets like a wet\nrag. She can do nothing in this condition, not even draw her legs away\nfrom an approaching hand. In ten or twelve minutes the legs show signs\nof strengthening, and she is able to draw them gradually towards her. A\nfew up-and-down movements, and she manages to get into the web again.\n\nThat which, more than anything else, discriminates spiders from other\nanimals is their habit of spinning webs. Some of the mites spin\nirregular threads upon plants, or cocoons for their eggs, and many\ninsects cocoons in which to undergo their changes from larva to imago,\nbut in the spiders the spinning-organs are much more complicated, and\nused for a greater variety of purposes, for making egg-cocoons, silk\nlinings to their nests, and nets for catching insects. The spider\u2019s\nthread differs from that of insects, in being constituted of a great\nnumber of finer threads laid together, while soft enough to coalesce\ninto one. Each spinneret is provided with a number of little tubes,\nwhich convey the viscid liquid that forms the thread from glands in the\nspider\u2019s body. In Agalena the two hinder spinnerets are long, and have\nspinning-tubes along the under side of the last joint.\n\nWhen about to produce a thread the spider presses the spinnerets\nagainst some object and forces out from each tube enough of the\nsecretion to adhere to it, when the spinnerets are moved away, drawing\nthe viscid liquid out, which hardens at once into threads for each\ntube. A band of threads is formed when the spinnerets are kept apart,\nbut when closed together the fine threads unite into one or more large\nones. Commonly the spinning is aided by the hinder feet, which guide\nthe thread, keeping it clear of surrounding objects, and even pulling\nit from the spinnerets.\n\nSpiders are best known and hated as animals that bite. Their\nbiting-apparatus, the mandibles, are located in front of the head.\nPartly in the basal joints of these organs and partly in the head, the\npoison-glands are seated, from which is discharged through a tube the\nvenom, which makes spiders so much to be feared. This tube opens at the\npoint of the claw of the mandible. When the apparatus is not in use\nthe claws are closed up against the parts between the rows of teeth;\nbut when the jaws are opened to bite the claws are turned outward, so\nthat their points can be made to penetrate anything that comes between\nthe jaws. The ordinary function of the mandibles is the killing and\ncrushing of insects, so that the soft parts can be eaten by the spider,\nand in this preparation they are substantially aided by the maxill\u00e6.\nSpiders will sometimes chew an insect for hours, until it becomes a\nmere ball of skin, only swallowing such bits as may happen to be sucked\nin with the blood. Let alone and unmolested, they bite nothing except\ninsects that are useful for food. But when attacked and cornered,\nall species open their jaws and bite if they can, their ability to\ndo so depending upon their size and the strength of their jaws.\nNotwithstanding the large number of pimples and stings ascribed to\nspiders, undoubted cases of their biting the human skin are exceedingly\nrare, and the stories of death, insanity and lameness from spider-bites\nare probably all untrue. Many experiments have been made to test the\neffect of the bites of spiders on animals. Insects succumb most readily\nto their bites, some sooner than others, but birds, except when bitten\nby the larger Mygale, recover after the lapse of a few hours. The\neffect upon man, even when the bite is deep enough to draw blood, is\nlike the pricks of a needle, attended by little or no inflammation or\npain. Even in cases where death among insects and birds ensues it is\nclaimed by the authorities, men as eminent as Blackwall, Moggridge and\nDufour, that the secretion from spiders\u2019 jaws is not poisonous, but\nthat the animals die, when bitten, from loss of blood and mechanical\ninjury.\n\nSuch is the prejudice against the spider, that its presence, no matter\nwhere found, whether in the open field or in a corner of the house,\nis an inducement for its inveterate enemy, man, to sweep it to the\nground or floor and crush its frail life out with one blow of the foot.\nFew know, or care to know, it would seem, the good it does for man.\nHe owes to it, in a large measure, the protection of his crops, and\nno little of the comfort he enjoys in life. Spiders are carnivorous\ncreatures, and destroy vast number of insects, many of which are man\u2019s\nworst enemies. They merit, and deservingly, too, his kindness and\nprotection for the benefits they confer.\n\nTarantulas have been supposed to produce epilepsy by their bites,\nwhich could only be relieved by music of certain kinds. Such stories,\nand they have been widely circulated and believed, are the veriest\nnonsense, for tarantula-bites produce no such effects nowadays. These\nspiders, which live in holes in sand, out of which they reach after\npassing insects, are no more savage in their habits than other spiders,\nfor Dufour, a celebrated French naturalist, once kept one that soon\nlearned to take flies from his fingers without manifesting the least\ndisposition to bite. Different species quickly learn, when treated\nwith kindness, to regard man as their friend. I have seen Agalena take\nfood from the hand out of a pair of forceps, or water from a brush,\nand even to reach on tiptoe after it from the mouth of a bottle placed\nfor her accommodation. Though naturally timid and shy, and prone\nto flee to her funnel on man\u2019s approach, yet she has been known to\npermit the most unexpected familiarities without fear or resentment.\nMany a female has taken from my hand the proffered fly, and submitted\nto the gentle caresses of my finger down the back and abdomen with\nthe most pleasurable satisfaction. They have come at the sound of my\nvoice, dancing upon their sheeted web like one gone mad, so perfectly\ncarried away with delight. An interesting experience of last summer\nduring a brief stay in the country seems apropos at this time. While\nsauntering carelessly along a forest-road I came unexpectedly upon a\nrustic bridge, with a railing on one side, which overspanned a small\nwater-course. Leaning for rest and support against the railing, soon\nmy attention was arrested by a huge female spider, which I recognized\nas _Epeira domiciliorum_. She was evidently in quest of something,\nas I was led to suspect from her seemingly thoughtful and deliberate\nmovements. I watched her closely and criticisingly for a long while,\nand in one of her contemplative moods, when she stood perfectly\nmotionless and fixed as it were to the railing, I reached out my\nfinger rather impulsively and began stroking her along the abdomen,\na familiarity which she did not resent, and which seemed to give her\nthe most intense delight. When the caressing had ceased, she would\nturn round and confront her newly-made acquaintance, but the lifting\nof the finger was always the signal for her to assume an attitude of\nthe most perfect quiescence. That she enjoyed these little attentions\nthere cannot be a shadow of doubt, or actions are no use in the\ninterpretation of feeling. Had they been painful, she would have sought\nrelief in flight, or in the manifestation of an untoward disposition\ntowards her unintentional persecutor.\n\n\n\n\nBOOK-LOVERS.\n\n\nLiving in chinks and crannies of ranges in our homes, and occasionally\nin bookcases and closets where glutinous and sugary matters abound,\nbut which has probably not been met with elsewhere, is a strange but\nbeautiful little creature which, as far as can be determined, goes\nthrough the brief round of its existence without a name to distinguish\nit from its fellows.\n\nFew entomologists have given any special attention to its family\nrelationships. The possession of certain bristle-like appendages which\nterminate the abdomen, and which are no doubt comparable with the\nabdominal legs of the Myriopods, or Thousand Legs, classes it with the\nBristle-tails, or Lepismas. In general form, a likeness to the larva\nof Perla, a net-veined neuropterous insect, is manifest, or to the\nnarrow-bodied species of Blattari\u00e6, or Cockroaches, when divested of\nwings.\n\n_Lepisma saccharina_, of Europe, which is indistinguishable from our\nordinary American form, is far from uncommon in old, damp houses. Its\nstructure is less complicated than the heat-loving species to which I\nhave alluded, and there are likewise differences of habits which show\nthemselves to the close investigator of natural phenomena.\n\nNot unlike the cockroaches, which our little denizen of the hearth\nsomewhat vaguely resembles in form, it affects hot, dry localities, and\nis always astir at nights in quest of its fare, for it disdains the\nlight of the day and the consequent publicity of its deeds of shame and\nplunder.\n\nMany a housewife in the discharge of duty has unearthed, so to speak,\nthe miscreant from its hidden retreat, and sought by foot or hand to\ncrush the life that dares obtrude its uncleanly presence in her larder,\nbut the cunning, swift-footed Lepisma darts off, like a streak of\nlight, to some near-by crack or breach, where it manages to hide from\nthreatening danger. The bodies of these nimble, silent-moving creatures\nbeing coated in a suit of shining mail, which the arrangement of the\nscales so very much resembles, they have a weird and ghostly look.\nThis appearance, and the swiftness of their movement, which the eye\ncan hardly trace, have led the vivid mind of man, in country town and\nvillage, to dub them \u201csilver witches.\u201d\n\nSo fleet of foot are they, and so like a wave of blurred light they\ncross the vision, that it is vain to try to figure what they are in\nshape and look. In death they yield their all of earth to prying\nscience. Their body\u2019s form is narrow, flattened; their legs in pairs of\nthrees, each of six joints consisting, the basal joints broad, flat,\ntriangular, the tarsal large, in number two, and armed at end with pair\nof claws incurved. The three thoracic segments are very like in size,\nand eight abdominals, of similar length and width. So weak it seems\nthe rather long abdomen is, that two pairs or six of bristles, simple,\nunjointed, and freely movable, serve as support, and also, as in other\ngroups of insects, as organs locomotive.\n\nThe mode of antenna-insertion--and the same prevails in the entire\nfamily--is much like that of the Myriopods, the front of the head\nbeing flattened and concealing, as in the Centipedes, the base of the\nantenn\u00e6. Indeed, the head of any of the Bristle-tails, as seen from\nabove, bears a general resemblance in some of its features to that of\nthe Centipede and its allies, and so, in a less degree, does the head\nof the larv\u00e6 of certain beetles and neuropters. The eyes are compound,\nthe individual facets constituting a sort of heap. The mouth-parts are\nreadily compared with those of the larva of Perla, the rather large,\nstout mandibles being hid at their tips by the upper lip, which moves\nfreely up and down when the creature opens its mouth. In length the\nmandible is three times its breadth, and furnished with three sharp\nteeth on the outer edge, and with a broad cutting margin within,\nand still further inwards with a number of straggling small spines.\nThe lower lip is broad and stout, with a distinct medium suture,\nwhich indicates a former separation in embryonic life into a pair of\nappendages. Its palpi are three-jointed, the joints being broad, and\ndirected backwards in life, and not forwards, as in the higher insecta.\n\n[Illustration: LEPISMAS AT WORK.\n\nHow Books are Destroyed.]\n\nPerhaps not more than a half-dozen species of Lepisma are known to\nexist in this country. Our commonest form is very abundant in the\nMiddle States under stones and leaves in forests, and northward in\ndamp houses, where it has much of the habits of the cockroach, eating\nclothes, tapestry, silken trimmings of furniture, and doing great\nmischief to libraries by devouring the paste and mutilating the leaves\nand covers of books. Our heat-loving form, which is apparently allied\nto the _Lepisma thermophila_ of Europe, and which may be an imported\nspecies, is quite as destructive as its nearest of kin _Lepisma\nsaccharina_. It does not confine its ravages to closets and pantries,\nand feed upon sugar and cake and pastry, but has latterly taken to\nbookcases, where it leads an easy, comfortable life, without fear of\nmolestation.\n\nSo delicately constructed are the Lepismas, and so seemingly feeble\nthe breath of life which animates their frail houses of clay, that\nnature has endowed them with qualities of mind and body which eminently\nfit them for the part they have to play in the world. She has made\nthem lovers of darkness rather than light, endowed them with keenness\nof vision and hearing truly wonderful, and given them a celerity of\nmovement which enables them to outstrip in speed the fleetest of their\ninsect-enemies, and even to baffle the well-directed efforts of man\nfor their destruction. The silver-coated armor with which they are\ninvested is so glossy and smooth that they can slip into a crevice in\nthe wall or floor with the utmost ease and facility. From their actions\nit would seem that they were always on the alert, for when peril is\nimminent they do not run aimlessly about for a place of security, but\nknow just where to find it with the least possible expenditure of time\nand physical strength. Every nook and cranny of their appropriated\ndomain is as well known to these very humble of God\u2019s creatures as some\nforest-tract of country to one skilled in wood-craft. Never have I\nstudied the behavior of Lepisma that I have not been deeply impressed\nwith the intelligence of its actions. There have always been displayed\na purpose and an aim, which showed as plainly as could be that no blind\ninstinct was the cause of a conduct so rational and human-like.\n\n\n\n\nYOU-EE-UP.\n\n\nHardly a person living in a sandy country district can be found who\nhas not seen or heard of the queer little insect called You-ee-up, a\nname which the books do not give, and of which writers on entomological\nsubjects seem to be ignorant. The learned call him Myrmeleon, or\nAnt-lion, and very appropriately too, because, like the great king of\nbeasts, he never attacks his prey in the open field, but by stratagem\nwhile lying in wait in some hidden retreat or secret covert.\n\nShould you chance, on a warm summer day, where sunny slopes abound on\nthe outskirts of a woods, or by the side of a frequented path or road,\nlook carefully about and soon will you descry a small funnel-like\nopening, scarce two inches in depth and in width, upon a bare patch of\nsand in the midst of an ocean of verdure. This little cavity is the\nintentional work of the larva of the Ant-lion. A very close scrutiny\nwill show, by the presence of a pair of fierce jaws, the Ant-lion at\nhome.\n\nWould you know the ingenious builder? Lift him out tenderly from his\nburrow of sand, and when you have placed him upon the palm of your wide\nopen hand, note with the most careful exactness the peculiar make-up of\nhis structure, so that in the future you may have little difficulty in\nrecognizing him should you again meet.\n\nHis short, flat head, armed with powerful mandibles, heavy-set chest,\nand large, soft, fleshy abdomen, amply protected on the sides with\nstiff, bristly hairs, added to his compact, robust form, the forward\nprojection of his front and middle legs, and the backward prolongation\nof the stronger and less movable hind ones, which eminently adapts\nthem to a backward manner of walking, are characters which so deeply\nimpress, that we cannot fail to call up, when occasion demands, the\npossessor of so wonderful a mechanism.\n\n[Illustration: YOU-EE-UP IN HIS DEN.\n\nAs He Appears in Youth and Old Age.]\n\nNow that you have become familiar with the odd creature in form and in\nmien, set him once more upon his proud realm of sand, and seat yourself\non the bank close by to watch and enjoy his curious behavior. In a\nminute or two his fears will have subsided, and he in control again of\nhis accustomed indifference. See, he moves. Round and round he turns in\nthe loose grey sand, burying himself deeper and deeper, and throwing\nthe grains out from the hole he has made by his twistings, using his\nshort, flat head for a shovel. The sand, as it is thrown over the side\nof the burrow, forms quite a margin, and when all is completed the\nAnt-lion sinks himself deep into the bottom of the trap he has digged,\nleaving only the tips of his mandibles in sight, which are extended and\nready to seize any insect that is so luckless as to fall into their\nreach.\n\nThe unfortunate ant that ventures too close to the margin sets the sand\noff rolling, and it immediately begins to struggle against falling\ndown, but the Ant-lion throws a few shovelfuls of sand against it, and\nit soon comes tumbling down to the bottom of the funnel, when it is\ninstantly seized between the sharp mandibles in waiting, which, being\nperforated by slender tubes, enable their blood-thirsty owner to suck\nout its juices.\n\nCountry children, and adults as well, manifest a deep interest in\nthese strange beings. They call them, as has been intimated before,\nYou-ee-ups. How the name originated, and when, I do not pretend to\nknow, nor have I been able upon inquiry to find out from the oldest\ninhabitants of the regions they affect. Old men and old women in the\nseventies and eighties knew these insects by this name when they were\nchildren, and I have been informed that they were always so spoken of\nby _their_ fathers and mothers.\n\nEven the insects themselves are believed to know the odd name by which\nthey are designated. So fixed is the belief in the minds of the many\nthat, to contradict it, is sure to subject the person so rash and\npresumptuous to the grossest abuse from the friends of the strange\nlittle creature. They have seen him in his sandy retreat, and have\ncalled him by name, and he has never been known to decline a response.\n\u201cYou-ee-up, you-ee-up,\u201d cries one, with his mouth just over the\nopening, and up comes the strange \u201ccrittur\u201d as obedient as a lackey.\n\u201cYou-ee-down, you-ee-down,\u201d says the same childish voice, and down he\ngoes to his den to await, as is thought, the giving of further orders.\n\nThat the Ant-lion does seem to respond when called, cannot be denied,\nfor I have tried the experiment myself, and others have tried it in\nmy presence, and always with the same successful results. But people\ngo through the world not only with their eyes closed and their ears\nsealed, but also with their minds forever locked against thinking,\nlest, by thinking, they might do themselves serious injury. Had but\na little of thinking been done, or some common sense exercised, the\nsolution of the insect\u2019s strange actions could have been reached\nwithout any great difficulty.\n\nLet me briefly explain. One cannot talk, as is well known, without some\nmotion being imparted to the outlying air. This moving air impinging\nupon the loosely arranged sand piled up around the margin of the tiny\npitfall, dislodges some particles, and these, falling into the jaws\nof the hidden Ant-lion, bring him to the surface, for he ascribes\nthe commotion to some ill-fated ant, or other such insect, that has,\nin its anxious searching for food, tumbled unconsciously into his\nartfully-laid trap. In a moment the mistake is discovered, and, with\nall possible dispatch, he backs himself down into his den to await\nfurther developments. His appearance on the occasion is greeted by\n\u201cyou-ee-down, you-ee-down,\u201d and as he goes down apparently in obedience\nto the order, but really because it is a matter of business so to\ndo, it is claimed by the unlearned and unwise that his movements are\nresponsive to the command of the person by whom he is addressed.\n\nTwo years of larval life, and the subject of our sketch is lost to\nthe sight of the rural folks. A new life, where feeding is no longer\nnecessary, awaits him, but one in which the most radical changes must\noccur if he is to fulfil the existence which nature designed in her\ngrand scheme of creation. From a silk-gland, which, unlike those of the\nbutterflies and moths, is situated at the end of the body, he spins\na cocoon, but there being so little of silk to spare, he needs must\nsupply the deficiency by the utilization of a quantity of sand, which\nhe glues into the walls of his house. Here he dwells a comparatively\ninactive pupa for three brief weeks, retaining his large, powerful\nmandibles to the last, which he uses in cutting his way out of the\ncocoon, when he is ready to emerge as a winged neuropter. In the\nadult form he resembles the dragon-flies in flight, flapping wildly\nand irregularly about, as if his muscles were too weak to wield his\ngreat stretch of wings. But in repose his alar appendages are folded\nabove each other, forming an acute-angled roof above the long, slender\nabdomen. The antenn\u00e6 or feelers are short, stout and club-shaped, and\nthe wings long, narrow and densely veined.\n\n_Myrmeleon obsoletus_, a name given to this insect by Thomas Say, a\nnaturalist of repute, who lived in Philadelphia in the early half of\nthe present century, is by no means a rare species, if search is made\nin the proper places. In the cut the larva is found to the right of\nthe burrow, while deep in the bottom, with the jaws only in view, is\nanother, prepared to receive the small ant just above should it lose\nits foothold and tumble into the trap. On the wing, a little in the\nbackground of the picture, may be seen the adult insect, represented in\nhawking for prey over a meadowy expanse of country.\n\n\n\n\nTOWER-BUILDING CICADA.\n\n\nClosely allied to the bugs is a group of remarkable insects to which\nnaturalists now apply the name of Cicada, but which are generally,\nthough improperly, designated Locust by the common people. They are\nreadily distinguished by their broad heads, large prominent eyes,\nwith three eyelets triangularly placed between them, and delicately\ntransparent, veined wing-covers and wings. The abdomen is short and\npointed, and the legs are short, the anterior femora being much\nthickened and toothed beneath. The hinder extremity of the body of\nthe female is conical, and the under-side has a longitudinal channel\nfor the reception of the ovipositor, or piercer, which is furthermore\nprotected by four short-grooved pieces which are immovably fixed to the\nsides of the channel. The piercer itself consists of two outer parts\ngrooved on the inside and slightly enlarged and angular at the tips,\nwhich are externally beset with small saw-like teeth, and a central\nspear-pointed borer which plays between the other two, thus combining\nthe advantages of an awl and a double-edged saw, or rather of two\nkey-hole saws cutting opposite to each other. A hard, horny substance,\ncalled chitine, the same as exists in the stings of bees and wasps, is\nthe material of its composition. It would be impossible to conceive\nof anything more exactly fitted for its required uses than is this\nbeautiful complicated instrument.\n\nBut the most peculiar characteristic of this family, however, consists\nin the structure of the mechanism by which the males make the trilling\nsound for which they have been so long famous. In the male of the\nSeventeen-year Cicada the musical instrument consists of two stretched\nmembranes, one on each side of the body, which are plainly to be\nseen immediately behind the wings. These membranes are gathered into\nnumerous fine plaits, and are played upon by muscles or cords fastened\nto their under surfaces. When these muscles contract and relax, which\nthey do with great rapidity, the drum-heads, which the membranes\nresemble, are alternately tightened and loosened, the effect of this\nalternate tension and relaxation being the production of a rattling\nsound very much like that caused by a succession of quick pressures\nupon a slightly complex and elastic piece of tin-plate. Certain\ncavities within the body of the insect, which may be seen on raising\ntwo large valves beneath the abdomen, and which are separated from\neach other by thin transparent partitions of the brilliancy of mica or\nhighly polished glass, tend to increase the intensity of the sound.\n\nIn the winged state _Cicada septendecim_, as the subject of our\nsketch was named by the immortal Linn\u00e6us, is of a black color, with\ntransparent wings and wing-covers, the thick anterior edge and veins of\nwhich being orange-red. Near the tips of the latter there is a dusky\nzig-zag line which resembles in shape the letter W. The eyes, when\nliving, are also red, while the legs are a dull orange, which color is\nconspicuous along the edges of the rings of the body. The wings expand\nfrom two and a half to three and a quarter inches.\n\n[Illustration: SEVENTEEN-YEAR CICADA.\n\nAdult, Chrysalis-Case, Pupa, Entrances to Burrows and Egg-Nests.]\n\nAbout the middle of June the perfect insects make their appearance, and\nas they generally come in large numbers they do a great deal of damage.\nIn some localities they congregate to such an extent upon the trees as\nto bend and even to break down the limbs by their weight. The din of\ntheir discordant drums resounds in the woods and orchards from morning\nto evening. As their life is of rather short duration, not lasting for\na longer period than a month, they soon begin to pair, and it is not\nlong afterwards that the females may be seen preparing nests for the\nreception of their eggs. Branches of moderate size are selected for\nthis purpose. Their manner of perforation is curious and interesting.\nClasping the branch on both sides with their legs, and bending the\novipositor at an angle of forty-five degrees, they repeatedly thrust it\ninto the bark and wood in the direction of the fibres, at the same time\nsetting the lateral saws at work, thereby detaching little splinters\nof wood at one end, which are intended to serve as a kind of fibrous\ncover for the nest. The hole is bored obliquely to the pith, and by a\nrepetition of the same operation is gradually enlarged until is formed\na longitudinal fissure of sufficient extent to receive from ten to\ntwenty eggs. The side-pieces of the piercer act as a groove to convey\nthe eggs to the nest, where they are deposited in pairs, but separated\nfrom each other by a narrow strip of wood. When two eggs have been\nthus placed, the piercer is withdrawn for a moment, and then inserted\ntill two more eggs are dropped in a line with the first, and thus the\noperation is repeated until the fissure has been filled, when the\ninsect removes to a little distance and commences to make another nest\nto contain two more rows of eggs. It takes about fifteen minutes to\nprepare a groove and fill it with eggs. As many as twenty grooves are\nsometimes made in a branch by a single insect, and when the limb has\nbeen sufficiently stocked she goes from it to another, or from tree to\ntree, until she has got rid of her complement of from five hundred to\nseven hundred eggs. So weak does she at length become, in her continued\nendeavor to provide for the succession of her race, as to fall, in an\nattempt to fly, an almost lifeless lump to the earth, where her spirit\nsoon goes out never more to enliven its frail house of clay.\n\nAlthough Cicadas abound most upon the oaks, yet there seem to be no\ntrees or shrubs that are exempt from their attacks, unless it be the\nvarious species of pines and firs. The punctured limbs languish and\ndie soon after the eggs are laid, and as often happens are broken off\nby the winds; but when this is the case the eggs never hatch, for\nthe moisture of the living branch seems necessary for their proper\ndevelopment.\n\nThe eggs are one-twelfth of an inch in length, and one-sixteenth of\nan inch through the middle, but taper to an obtuse point at each end.\nThey are of a pearl-white color. The shell is so thin and delicate that\nthe form of the inclosed insect can be seen before the egg is hatched.\nOne writer claims that fifty-two days, and others that fourteen days,\nconstitute the period required for the hatching of the egg.\n\nWhen it bursts the shell the young insect is one-sixteenth of an inch\nlong, and is of a yellowish-white color, excepting the eyes and\nthe claws of the fore-legs, which are reddish. It is clothed with\nsmall hairs. In form it is grub-like, larger proportionally than the\nparent, and provided with six legs, the first pair being very large,\nshaped like lobster-claws, and armed beneath with strong spines.\nLittle prominences take the place of wings, and under the breast is\na long beak for suction. Its movements, after leaving the egg, are\nvery lively, and nearly as quick as some of the ants. But after a few\nmoments their instincts prompt them to reach the ground. They do not\nattain this end by descending the body of the tree, nor by casting\nthemselves off precipitately, but, running to the side of the limb,\ndeliberately loosen their hold and drop to the ground, making the\nperilous descent with the utmost safety. This seems almost incredible,\nbut it has been repeatedly observed by scores of honest witnesses.\n\n[Illustration: NEW-BORN CICADA.\n\nLine Below Shows Natural Size.]\n\nOn reaching the ground the young insects immediately burrow their\nway into the soil, using their broad and strong fore-feet pretty\nmuch after the fashion of the mole. They apparently follow, in their\ndescent, the roots of plants, fastening their beaks into the most\ntender and succulent, and thus imbibing their juices, which constitute\ntheir sole aliment. They do not descend very deeply into the ground,\nprobably not more than ten or twelve inches, although accounts have\nbeen published of their discovery at a depth of ten or twelve feet, but\ntheir occurrence at such great distances from the top of the ground is\ndoubtless the result of accident.\n\nThe only alteration to which the insects are subject during the\nseventeen years of their subterranean confinement, is an increase in\nsize, and the more complete development of the four small scale-like\nprominences of the back, which contain their future wings.\n\nWhen the time of its transformation draws near, the larva, in which\nstage the insect passes the greater part of its existence, works its\nway up towards the surface, oftentimes in a very circuitous manner,\nfor local changes make it necessary for it to bore through hard woods\nand between stones well beaten down. The burrow which it thus produces\nis cylindrical, about five-eighths of an inch in diameter, and firmly\ncemented and varnished so as to be water-proof. The upper portion, to\nthe extent of five or six inches, is empty, and serves as a habitation\ntill the period of its exit arrives, while the lower is filled with\nearthy matter removed by the insect in its progress. In this cell it\nremains during several days, ascending to the top for the benefit of\nthe sunshine and air when the weather is auspicious, even venturing to\npeep forth occasionally, but descending on the occurrence of cold or\nwet weather. But when the favorable moment to leave their subterranean\nretreats arrives, the Cicada-grubs, or more properly pup\u00e6, for such\nthey are now to be considered, although they still retain something\nof the grub-like form, issue from the ground in great numbers as\nevening draws on, crawl up the trunks of trees, the stems of herbaceous\nplants, or on to whatever is convenient, which they grasp securely\nwith their claws. After resting awhile, their skins, which have become\ndry and of an amber color, are by repeated exertions rent along the\nback, and through the slit formed the included Cicada pushes its\nhead and body, and withdraws its wings and legs from their separate\ncases, and, crawling to a short distance, leaves its empty pupa-case\nfastened to the tree. At first the wing-covers and wings are small and\nopaque, but in a few hours they acquire their natural size and shape.\nIt is not, however, for three or four days that the muscles harden\nsufficiently for them to assume their characteristic flight. The males\nmake their appearance some days in advance of the females, and also\ndisappear sooner. During several successive nights the pup\u00e6 continue\nto issue from the ground, and in some places, as was the case in May\nof 1868, when these insects appeared in great numbers in the vicinity\nof Philadelphia, the whole surface of the soil was made by their\noperations to assume a honey-combed appearance.\n\n[Illustration: DOME-LIKE HOUSE OF CICADA.\n\nLongitudinal Section Showing Pupa in Two Positions.]\n\nIn localities where the soil is low and swampy, a remarkable chamber is\nbuilt up by the larva, where the pupa may be found awaiting the time\nof its change to the winged state. These chambers were first noticed\nby S. S. Rathvon, at Lancaster, Pa., and are from four to six inches\nabove the ground, and have a diameter of one inch and a quarter. When\nready to emerge the insect backs down to an opening which is left in\nthe side of the structure on a level with the surface of the ground,\nissues forth and undergoes its transformation in the usual manner.\nThis peculiar habit of nest-building, which is so unlike what is\ncustomary with the Cicadid\u00e6, or with Hemiptera in general, points to a\nhigh degree of intelligence among these insects, showing a remarkable\nability to adapt themselves to environing circumstances. Undue moisture\nwould be prejudicial to the pupa, as the larva seemed to know, through\nthe guidance of the same dumb and unerring instinct which teaches it to\ncement its underground dwelling, but would that same instinct teach it\nto construct so wonderful a dome-like house as the one described for\nthe preservation of its after-life, and one so eminently fitted by its\nposition, shape, size and entrance to secure the necessary shelter,\nwarmth and air for its protection and development? I apprehend not.\nNothing short of a reason, similar to that in man, but differing in\ndegree, would enable it to grasp the situation in which it found itself\nto be placed when nearing its final change, and plan with the view of\ncarrying out the ultimate aim of its existence.\n\nFortunately, these insects are appointed to return at periods so\ndistant that vegetation has a chance to recover from the injuries which\nthey inflict. Were they to appear at shorter intervals, our forest- and\nfruit-trees would be entirely destroyed by them. They are, moreover,\nsubject to many accidents, and have many enemies, which contribute to\ndiminish their numbers. Their eggs are eaten by birds, and the young,\nwhen they leave the egg, are preyed upon by ants, who mount the trees\nfor that purpose, or take them upon the ground as they are about to\nenter upon their protracted larval career. Blackbirds eat them in the\nspring when turned up by the plough, and hogs, when allowed to run at\nlarge in the woods, root them up and devour large numbers, especially\njust before the arrival of the period of their final transformation,\nwhen they are lodged only a few inches below the surface of the soil.\nMany perish in the egg by the closing up of the bark and wood that\nconstitute the walls of the perforations, thus burying the eggs before\nthey have hatched, and others, no doubt, are killed by their perilous\ndescent from the trees.\n\nAs its name implies, this insect generally requires seventeen years\nto complete its transformations, a fact that was first pointed out\nmany years ago by the botanist Kalm. The late Prof. Riley, who had\ngiven this species a great deal of study, was the first to work\nout the problem of its periodical returns. He found that there are\nalso thirteen-year broods, and that both sometimes occur in the same\nlocality, but that in general terms the thirteen-year brood might be\ncalled the southern form, and the seventeen-year the northern form. At\nthe limits of their respective ranges these broods overlap each other.\nThe shorter-lived form he named provisionally _Cicada tredecim_. It\nwas the existence of this brood that led entomologists to doubt the\npropriety of Linn\u00e9\u2019s name, because, in calculating each appearance\nas occurring in any locality at the end of every seventeen years,\nthey could not make the dates of its periodical returns correct. But\nit was Prof. Riley that cleared up the matter. It happened in the\nsummer of 1868 that one of the largest seventeen-year broods occurred\nsimultaneously with one of the largest thirteen-year broods. Such\nan event, so far as these two particular broods are concerned, has\nnot taken place since 1647, nor will it take place again till the\nyear 2089. There are absolutely no specific differences between the\ntwo broods other than in the time of maturing. There is, however, a\ndimorphous form that appears with both these broods. It is smaller,\nof a much darker color, has an entirely different voice, appears a\nfortnight sooner, and is never known to pair with the ordinary form.\nDr. J. C. Fisher, in 1851, described it as _Cicada cassinii_, but the\nspecific differences are not sufficiently well defined to entitle it to\nrank as a species.\n\n\n\n\nHONEY-DEW.\n\n\nThat aphides secrete, or rather excrete, a saccharine fluid, called\nhoney-dew, which constitutes an important part of the food of ants,\nis a fact well known to naturalists. It must not be supposed,\nhowever, that this was its primitive use. But that it is in some way\nconnected with the preservation of the tender creatures by which it is\nelaborated, there can exist not the slightest doubt.\n\nConcerning its origin and application, and the benefit which it secures\nto its authors, various opinions have been hazarded, but they have all\nbeen too unsatisfactory to merit more than a passing notice. That it\nwas of some advantage to young aphides was surmised by many, but the\nproofs necessary to sustain such a surmise were unfortunately wanting.\nIt was left to the latter half of the nineteenth century to throw\ncorrect light upon the subject.\n\nWhilst engaged some few years ago in the study of the species that\naffects the blossoms of one of our gourds--the _Cucurbita ovifera_ of\nbotanists--certain phenomena were observed, which promised an easy and\nspeedy solution of the problem.\n\nGathered in compact masses, like companies of soldiery preparing for\na foray, hundreds of aphides were seen, busily feeding, all over the\nflowers. There were old and young, not an indiscriminate mingling of\nages and sizes, but an orderly arrangement of families, each family\npreceded by its own appropriate head. First came the very young of\neach family, only to be followed by those that were older, leaving the\noldest of all to lead up the rear.\n\n[Illustration: BLOSSOM OF CUCURBITA.\n\nMother-Aphis and Her Army of Children on Tube.]\n\nHere, it was apparent, was a most wonderful manifestation of\nintelligent design. The newly-born, needing the mother\u2019s earliest\nattention, were in closest proximity, while the almost mature were the\nfarthest removed from her essential presence.\n\nAll this seemed to indicate the dearest relationship subsisting between\nmother and offspring, but judging from outward appearances, little,\nif any, love existed. It is true that maternal instinct, which is\nseldom so far gone as to shut its ears to the beseechings of suffering\noffspring for food, was far from being absent. Instances of its\npresence were momentarily noted.\n\nBut a stimulus seemed, in some cases, quite necessary to its\nmanifestation. There were times when the honey-glands acted without\nany provocation. It was only, however, when the very tender were\na-hungry, that pressure was brought to bear upon the mothers. A few\ngentle reminders served to arouse them from the apathetic indifference\nwhich possessed them. The antenn\u00e6 of the young were the means employed\nfor this purpose. Two or three caresses almost immediately brought\na discharge of honey. Again and again was the process observed, and\nalways with the same invariable result.\n\nNever for a longer period than two days were the very young dependent\nupon this manner of feeding, for their digestive organs were too weak\nand delicate to assimilate earlier, without injury, the powerful juices\nof the food-plant.\n\nBut what of the older offspring? That they were far from being\ndisregarded by parental provision, subsequent developments only too\nplainly showed. The excretion, though less urgent in their case than\nin that of the very young, was quite as indispensable. Were it not so,\nwhat reason can be assigned for their very strict adherence to the\ncourse over which the maternal head had already passed in feeding?\n\nFrom what has been said, there can be no doubt that the newly-born\naphis derives material advantage from the excretion. But as the supply\nis clearly above the requirements, why the excess? It is evident\nnature does not need it as a kind of compensation for losses sustained\nthrough aphides. Then what purpose does it serve? It becomes in part\nthe pabulum of the stronger of the young, and this it accomplishes by\nmixing with the natural juices of the plant, thereby rendering them fit\nfor use.\n\nTo serve as food for the young is then the primary object of\naphis-excretion. That a secondary purpose, namely, the preservation of\nthe species, is also subserved, there can be no question. How this is\neffected, it shall now be my endeavor to show.\n\nAnts, it is well known, are fond of sugar, gums and saccharine\nsolutions, as well as the rich juices and tender tissues of animals.\nBut their appetite for sweets is stronger than for all other diets.\nTo them aphis would prove quite as toothsome a morsel as it is to\nCoccinella, and would be as eagerly hunted for by them were it not for\nthis matter of sweets.\n\nWay back in the history of time, things were perhaps different from\nwhat they are now. Aphis was then a racy tidbit, and shared, no doubt,\nthe murderous assaults of Formica, as it did of other carnivores.\n\nFor ages this may have been going on, but how long conjecture only can\ntell. But there came a time when affairs were changed. A new order\nof things was initiated. Earth was growing better and impressing new\nfeatures upon its life. An Ant, more wise than any of its fellows, or\nany that had ever lived before, doubtless stepped upon the scene, and a\nnew era for Aphis inaugurated.\n\nFinding by accident, or otherwise, the delightful qualities of\naphis-excretion, it would not be slow to communicate the information to\nits companions. And as news travels rapidly, and ants are by no means\nreticent creatures, but a short time would be necessary to carry it\neverywhere, till all the families, near and remote, of the great world\nof the Formicid\u00e6 would be made acquainted with the important discovery.\n\nNow, as ants are endowed with a high degree of intelligence,\nconsidering the position they occupy in the grand scale of created\nexistences, they would soon perceive that their highest good would be\nattained by taking under their protection the little creatures which\nare the authors of this excretion. From this time the ants would begin\nto abandon their sanguinary propensities and manifest some regard for\nthe aphides. The latter, in return, perceiving the former\u2019s friendly\ndisposition, would cease to fear them, and learn to cater to their\nwants. Thus would be developed, in time, those amicable relations which\nsubsist between the two great, yet widely differentiated, families.\n\n\n\n\nMILCH-COWS OF THE ANTS.\n\n\nWhile much has been written upon the social relations subsisting\nbetween ants and aphides, yet the subject never grows uninteresting or\nthreadbare. New facts are brought to light as observations widen and\nextend, some tending to confirm, and others to subvert old notions.\n\nThat aphides excrete a sweet, viscid, honey-like fluid, which affords\nfood for many species of ants, has been long known to naturalists.\nAny one can convince himself of this truth if he will but put himself\nto the trouble of examining the leaves or branchlets of any plant at\nthe proper season of the year. Scattered upon the foliage and tender\ntwigs thereof will be found millions of aphides, and close beside them\ncountless ants, that ever and anon will be seen to caress, by means of\ntheir antenn\u00e6, the little creatures for the sweets within their bodies.\nIt has even been asserted that some species of ants keep aphides as\nhuman beings do cows, but this by the many has been doubted, or deemed\nimaginary.\n\nWhen a young man the writer was disposed to drift with the popular\nopinion in this particular, but a few facts that fell under his notice\nwhilst searching for carabi and other beetles that live under stones\nand decayed logs, changed the bias of his mind and established in him\nthe idea that with one species of ant this was at least the case.\n\nIt was on an occasion while exploring a neighboring thicket for the\nobjects of his search, that he discovered, underneath a large flat\nstone which he had raised, a nest of a small red ant, which he took\nto be the _Lasius flavus_ of the books. The ground was covered all\nover with pits, and divers communicating roads, and round about were\nhundreds of ants, larv\u00e6 in various stages of development, pup\u00e6 and\neggs, and innumerous flocks of a white aphis, all of which were being\ntenderly cared for by a large army of thoughtful nurses.\n\n[Illustration: NEST OF LASIUS.\n\nNeuters About Their Work.]\n\nNo sooner did the intrusion occur than the colony was a scene of\nbusy activity. Interested in what was before him, the writer seated\nhimself upon a small mound overlooking the nest, where could be clearly\nobserved the minutest details of ant-life. The neuters were everywhere\nto be noticed, but not a single male or female ant. All the work\ndevolved upon the neuters. These were divided into three sets, each set\nhaving a definite part to perform in the unexpected drama before it.\nSome neuters had the exclusive charge of the mature larv\u00e6, others of\nthe pup\u00e6 and very young grubs, and the rest of their aphidian herds.\n\nBut it is to those that had the care of the aphides that we shall\nparticularly invite attention. At the time of the disturbance, these\nspecialized neuters were busy milking their cows, which they did\nby rubbing their long, pliant feelers against the anal nipples of\nthe latter, drawing therefrom, as it seemed, a drop of the coveted\nfluid with each antennal stroke. No aphis was known to be visited in\nthis business twice in succession, but the ants would go from one to\nanother, and only return to the first when sufficient time had elapsed\nfor the replenishing of its store. So intent were they upon their task,\nthat several minutes must have passed before they took in the danger to\nwhich they were exposed.\n\nYou should then have seen their anxiety, and the presence of mind they\nexhibited. Conscious as of attack, and knowing the peril that beset\nthem, they did not flee to their underground galleries, or to the\nadjoining grasses, for shelter, and thus leave their flocks to the\nmercy of the invader, but they manifested the deepest concern for the\nlittle creatures, so unable to defend themselves, that had so willingly\ncatered to their temporal wants. Not an ant was seen to desert its\npost, but all remained on duty till the last of their proteg\u00e9s was\ncarried to safe and comfortable apartments in the ground beneath.\n\nWhat clearer evidence is wanted to show the love these neuters bear the\ntender objects of their care? It must be plain that man bestows not\nhalf the attention upon his flocks than do these ants on theirs. It is\ntrue they do not bring them food, but that they build their homes where\nfood, the roots of herbs and grasses, abound, there is no doubt. It\nmay be, too, that they are carried to their pasture-grounds, when that\nnecessity occurs, but this cannot with truth be said. When some would\nstray, they were returned within the fold, which shows the watch these\nants do exercise.\n\nConcluding then, this much may be averred: food, wholesome, sweet,\nnutritious food, the aphides supply to ants, the neuters and the young,\nbut specially the young. And that they lead most happy, prosperous\nlives, the ants their masters, must surely be, or looks deceive.\n\n\n\n\nLIVING ARTILLERY.\n\n\nNo more remarkable creature exists, perhaps, than the little _Brachinus\nfumans_, which is so very common in the early spring. Damp situations\nare affected by it, but it is seldom met with except by insect-hunters,\nfor it conceals itself generally under stones, as many as a half-dozen\nindividuals often being found in company in a single locality. Banks of\ntidal rivers afford excellent hunting-grounds in England for Brachinus,\nbut in America low, dank woods and borders of streams are the places\nwhere one must look to discover its presence.\n\nWhen once you have made the acquaintance of so remarkable a stranger\nyou can never afterwards fail to recognize him in your travels. He\nis peculiar, but not at all distinguished in looks, as some of his\nbrethren. Picture a yellowish-red beetle, with a bluish frock-coat,\nwhich his wing-covers resemble, and possessed of a short, narrow head,\na heart-shaped prothorax, as the front of the chest-segments is called,\nand a long, broad abdomen, three times the size of the rest of his\nbody, and you have a tolerably fair idea of Brachinus.\n\nBut it is not so much his odd shape as a most extraordinary property\nhe possesses, which is singularly unique in the animal kingdom, that\nmakes him an object of interest and curiosity. Deep down in his most\nmarvellous body a fluid, highly volatile in its nature, is elaborated,\nwhich the little creature can retain or expel at his pleasure. It\nis only, however, when alarmed that he utilizes this fluid in small\nquantities in defense, but its effect is wonderful, for in coming\ninto contact with the atmosphere it immediately volatilizes and\nexplodes, looking very much like a discharge of powder from a miniature\nartillery. In consequence of this phenomenon the insect which produces\nit is popularly called the Bombardier Beetle.\n\n[Illustration: BRACHINUS PURSUED BY AN ENEMY.\n\nHis Curious and Unique Method of Defence.]\n\nSo small a coleopter, being scarcely one-fourth of an inch in length,\nand so comparatively weak, is likely to be attacked by the larger\nGeodephaga, or Earth Devourers, and especially by the Carabi, which\ninhabit similar retreats. But for this curious defence the smaller\ninsect could have but the barest chance of living in the struggle for\nexistence. Often have I seen a Carabus in hot pursuit of Brachinus. The\nchase is always an interesting one, and never fails, however frequently\nit has been observed, of attracting attention and exciting admiration.\nBut the wide-awake, ever watchful Brachinus never loses his head for a\nsecond when thus pursued, but like the clever artilleryman that he is,\nawaits the opportune moment, and then pours a heavy discharge of his\nfulminating fluid into the very face of the enemy. Baffled, alarmed,\nCarabus desists from the attack, and backs slowly away from the tiny\nblue smoke, while Brachinus, in the confusion that ensues, escapes to\nsome place of security for rest and protection.\n\nMost skilfully has the artist delineated the scene. _Carabus serratus_,\nthe pursuing beetle, is chasing the Bombardier, and has nearly effected\nhis capture, when, all of a sudden, a discharge of artillery has\nstopped the pursuit, under cover of which the Bombardier will make off.\nMeanwhile the Carabus, exchanging his rapid advance for a retreat quite\nas rapid, throws back his antenn\u00e6, a sign of his defeat, and skulks\naway to recover his wonted self-possession.\n\nThe volatile fluid, which produces such curious effects, is secreted\nin a small sac just within the end of the abdomen. Not only is it\ncapable of repelling the larger beetles by its explosion and cloud\nof blue vapor, but it is also powerful enough to discolor the human\nskin, as many who have captured Bombardier Beetles by the hand know\nonly too well. Should the fluid get within the eyelids, the pain and\nirritation produced are very distressing. Some years ago the writer,\nwhile searching for carabi underneath stones and in creviced rocks, met\nfor the first time with Brachinus, but was ignorant as a child of his\nobnoxious property. Placing a little fellow upon his hand for close\nexamination, he soon experienced a burning and painful sensation of the\nball of the eye, but did not for a long while attribute the cause to a\ndischarge from the Beetle. Repeated investigations at very short ranges\nby means of a microscope were attended with similar results, till\neventually an inflammation of the visual organs set in, accompanied by\na blurring of the sight, which debarred him from reading and study for\nnearly a fortnight. One learns wisdom by experience, and the wisdom\nthus acquired serves for a lifetime.\n\nEven Brachinus has learned by experience, doubtless, to be economical\nin the use of his resources. The whole of the contents of his tiny\nmagazine are not ejected at one discharge, but there is sufficient\nto produce a series of explosions, each explosion being perceptibly\nfainter than its predecessor. By pressing the abdomen of the dead\nBeetle between finger and thumb these explosions may even be produced.\nIn hot countries, where exceedingly large species abound, the\nexplosions are said to be very loud, and accompanied with quite a cloud\nof blue vapor.\n\n\n\n\nBRIGHT AND SHINING ONES.\n\n\nProbably more than ninety thousand different species of beetles exist\nin the world, first and foremost among them standing the Cicindelid\u00e6,\nor Tiger Beetles. From their high position in the coleopterous world\nthey may well demand our attention, but they have other claims upon our\nconsideration. They are beautiful, courageous little creatures, and\naccomplish a vast amount of good to man. The name Cicindela, by which\nthey are known to scientific people, tells us that they are the \u201cbright\nand shining ones;\u201d while the cognomen of Tiger Beetle reveals to all\nEnglish-speaking nations the story of the incessant warfare which they\nwage upon their fellows.\n\nThe Cicindel\u00e6 love the merry sunshine. On any bright summer day they\nmay be found running and flying about sunny banks, or revelling in\nsandy places where the day-god smilingly rejoices. They mostly avoid\nvegetation, as it checks their easy rapid movements, although some\nkinds affect grassy spots among the trees. They are the most predaceous\nof the coleoptera, and behave like the tigers among mammals, the hawks\namong birds, the crocodiles among reptiles and the sharks among fishes.\nIn the tropics some few genera seek their food on the leaves of trees,\nbut in temperate and sub-tropical regions, where the species are more\nabundant, they are terrestrial in habits.\n\nLet us now take our instruments of capture and go in quest of some\nof the dozen or more species that have their home with us. The day\nis auspicious. Here is a likely spot. See there upon the ground are\nsome specimens of our commonest species--the _Cicindela vulgaris_ of\nnaturalists. Go for that one. He sees you as quickly as you see him,\nand is off for a few yards, but suddenly drops to the grass from his\nflight, but always with his head towards the enemy. Again and again\nyou start him, but at last, tiring of the chase, he takes a longer\nflight that usual. This is a _ruse_ of his, and knowing what it means,\nyou hurry back to where you first saw him in time to see him all\nunsuspectingly alight, and you easily take him captive in your toils.\nNow that you have him secure, examine him closely. Watch how savagely\nhe moves his mandibles and tries to pinch. You need not be afraid,\nfor his bite is inoffensive and not very painful. You measure with\nthe eye his size, and you rightly decide that he is not much over an\ninch in length, and scarcely one-fourth in breadth. His head you will\nfind very large and brainy, his jaws powerful and long and curved,\ntwo scimitar-like weapons, which are admirably fitted for cutting and\ncarving the quivering bodies of his prey. His eleven-jointed antenn\u00e6\nare long, slender and graceful. In color his back is dull purple, but\nbeneath he is resplendent in a bright brassy green. Three whitish,\nirregular bands adorn his wing-covers. His legs, long and slender, are\njust the things on which to hunt the active insects upon which he feeds.\n\nHis next of kin, the Purple Tiger Beetle, is nearly as large as he, and\noften joins him in company. Beautifully robed in purple he usually is,\nbut sometimes in a greenish garb arrayed. From the outer almost to the\ninner margin of each wing meanders a reddish line, while lower down a\ndot, and still another at the farthest tip of the inner border, enhance\nhis beauty. Cold spring days delight him best, and he is often seen\nwhen snow is yet upon the ground.\n\nMore beautiful by far than either, and no less active, is _Cicindela\nsex guttata_, or the Six-spotted Tiger Beetle, whose dress, a brilliant\nmetallic green, flecked with six small silver spots, renders him a\npretty sight when you flash the rays of light athwart his burnished\narmor. Hot, June-like days and dusty road-sides suit him best, and\nthere, what time the sun looks down in all his burning ardor, our\nlittle friend is met, his purpose bent on slaughter. Other species\nmight be instanced, for North America contains at least a hundred, but\nenough have been given for our present object.\n\n[Illustration: COMMON TIGER BEETLE.\n\nLarv\u00e6 in Burrows. Two Other Species in Background.]\n\nTiger Beetles may well be called beneficial insects. Although they\ndo not, like that brilliant murderess, the dragon-fly, clear the\natmosphere of the gnats and flies that torment mankind, but still,\nwith their powerful curved daggers, which serve them for jaws, they\naccomplish a swift and almost incredible havoc among the smaller\ninsects. We should take care of them, and respect them, for they are an\ninvaluable auxiliary to the farmer.\n\nThe ferocity of these insects is remarkable. No sooner have they taken\ntheir prey, than they quickly strip it of wings and legs, and proceed\nat once to suck out the contents of its abdomen. Often when they are\ndisturbed in this agreeable occupation, not wishing to leave their\nvictim, they fly away with it to a place of uninterrupted security, but\nthey are unable to carry a heavy burden to any great distance.\n\nThey are true children of the earth. The eggs are laid in the earth,\nand in the earth the grubs are hatched, and in the earth they spend\ntheir days, and in the earth they prepare their shrouds, and, wrapped\ntherein, sleep their pupa-sleep through the long, dreary winter, and\nwith the returning warmth of spring crawl out of their earthy chambers\nto run and sport on earth, seldom using their new-formed wings to fly\naway from their beloved mother.\n\nThe grubs are hideous hunchbacks, but possessed of brains and stomach.\nThey live in the same localities as their parents, the anxious mother,\nwith wise precision, having carefully deposited her eggs where food\nwould be readily attainable by her children. Have you a desire to\nexamine a larva? There is a hole that has been made by one of these\ncreatures. Place down into it a small straw or a bit of fine twig. The\ncranky little hermit, who is always wide-awake, resists most fiercely\nsuch unprovoked insolence, and instantly seeks, by the aid of his\nbroad, expansive head, to eject the intruding object. Now is your time.\nWhen he shows himself, quickly seize him with your fingers. You will\nfind him a perfect Daniel Quilp, with head enormous, flat, metallic in\ncolor and armed with long, curved jaws. His legs are six in number,\nand on the back, half-way between the legs and tail, are two curious,\nodd-looking tubercles, each terminating in a pair of recurved hooks.\nThe head and first body-division are horny, the rest of the creature\nbeing soft and very sensitive.\n\nWhile the larval Cicindela has all the desire for slaughter which his\nparents manifest, yet his delicate skin, long body and stubby legs\nnot only prevent him from chasing prey, but also from attempting a\nstruggle with an insect of any size; nevertheless this imperfectly\narmed creature manages to secure his food without exposing himself\nto any serious risk. With his short, thick spiny legs he loosens the\nearth, and with his flat head, which he uses as a shovel, and turning\nhimself into a z-shaped figure, hoists up the clay and upsets it\naround the mouth of his intended dwelling. With head and legs, and\nwith a perseverance that is truly surprising, he sinks in a very short\ntime a shaft a foot in length and as large in diameter as an ordinary\nlead-pencil.\n\nEspecial pains are taken to see that the tunnel is sufficiently wide,\nso that the little creature can crawl in with ease. If he wishes to\nremain set fast, he sticks the back of his body against the sides and\nrests safely with the aid of his hooks. In this position he can poke\nhis head out of the ground, thus closing the entrance of his burrow,\nwhile in patient waiting for some unsuspicious wayfarer to pass over.\nAs soon, however, as the luckless insect touches the top of his head,\nhe relinquishes his hold within the tunnel and descends with great\nprecipitation to the bottom, and thus his victim falls into the hole,\nwhere it is seized by the powerful jaws and its juices absorbed in a\nquiet, leisurely manner. The loose earth around the opening of the\ntunnel gives way on the approach of an insect, and thus the success of\nthe cunning Cicindela is doubly insured.\n\nSometimes in the construction of a burrow, after a certain depth has\nbeen reached, the young Cicindela meets with a difficulty which he had\nnot expected. A flat stone is encountered, and thus further progress\nin a vertical direction is prevented. If the obstacle, on account of\nits size, cannot be gone round, and the shaft is not deep enough for\nhis purpose, it is not unusual for him to desert it and attempt the\ntunnelling of a home in some more desirable spot. He does not undertake\na very long journey, for he knows too well the risk which he runs by\nso doing, as he is in danger of being assaulted by secret foes in the\nrear, an attack which the peculiar conformation of his hinder body ill\nfits him to resist. On land he is timid and cowardly, and well might\nhe be, but within the protecting walls of his underground castle,\nwith a pair of powerful swords with which to defend himself, he is the\nimpersonation of fearlessness and courage.\n\nWhen fully grown the larva closes up the mouth of its abode, and in\nquiet and solitude undergoes its metamorphosis, lying dormant during\nthe winter months. But when the breath of warm spring days has melted\nthe icy coldness of the earth, and filled the air with vivifying\ninfluences, then comes it forth in all the pomp and splendor of its\nnature--a winged existence.\n\nIt has been seen what a beautiful adaptation of means to an end is\nshown by the young Cicindela. Even the adult, or mature form, with its\nlong, slender legs, so admirably formed for silence and fleetness of\nmovement, which are alike necessary to pursuit of prey and escape from\nenemies, displays the wisdom of Him who breathed into all animated\nnature, no matter how small or how humble, the essence of His being,\nand endowed one and all with qualities of mind and body which should\nrespond to environing conditions and thus prepare them to survive in\nthe struggle for existence.\n\n\n\n\nQUEEN OF AMERICAN SILK-SPINNERS.\n\n\nNo insect affords a better proof of high art in nature, and of the\ntranscendent beauty of the Creator\u2019s thoughts, than the Luna moth,\nwhich is as pre\u00ebminent above her fellows as her namesake, the fair\nempress of the sky, above the lesser lights that dominate the night.\nHer elegant robes of green, set off with trimmings of purple, and\njewelled with diamonds, added to her queenly grace and personal\ncharms, will always distinguish her from the _profanum vulgus_ of the\narticulata.\n\nAnd now for a short biographical sketch of this remarkable beauty\nfrom the cradle to the grave, and beyond, after she has assumed her\nresurrection-attire, to the day when, her appointed work on earth being\nended, she quietly lays her body down to mingle with its native clay.\n\nIn her childhood, or caterpillar state, her head is elliptical in\nshape, of a light pearly color, the rest of the body being a clear\nbluish-green. A faint yellow band stretches along each side, just below\nthe line of her breathing-organs, from the first to the tenth segment,\nwhile the back, between the several body-rings, is crossed by narrow\ntransverse bars, similar in coloration. Each segment, after the fashion\nof her kith and kin, is adorned with small pearly warts, tinged with\npurple, some five or six in number, each tipped with a few simple\nhairs. Three brown spots, bordered above with yellow, ornament the end\nof the tail. An interesting variety, whose general color is a dull\nreddish-brown, is sometimes met with, but the lateral and transverse\nstripes of yellow have disappeared, and the pearl-colored warts with\nedges of purple have assumed a richer hue and blaze like a coronet of\nrubies. When at rest, with the rings all bunched and body shortened,\nthe infantile Luna is as thick as a man\u2019s thumb, measuring but two\ninches in linear direction; but when she sets out upon her travels,\nfeeling the dignity of her station in life, she stretches to her full\nlength of three inches.\n\nWhen have been completed her allotted days of feeding upon the leaves\nof the hickory, oak, walnut or sweet gum, and she is seriously\ncontemplating the preparing of a shroud and casket in which to await\nher resurrection-morn, she casts about for leaves, which, when they\nare found, she securely draws together, and within the hollow space\nthere is soon spun a very close and strong oval cocoon of silk, one\nand three-fourths inches in length, of chestnut-brown color, thin, and\ncovered with warts and excrescences, but seldom showing the imprints\nof leaves. Cocoons of Luna so nearly resemble those of polyphemus,\nthat many an experienced collector is greatly chagrined, after getting\ntogether a large supply of what he deems Luna cocoons, to find dusky,\none-eyed polyphemi to issue from the silken tombs rather than a goodly\nthrong, in delicate bridal attire, of proud empresses of the night.\nPolyphemus cocoons are, however, somewhat smaller than Lunas, white\nor dirty-white in color, rounded at each end, and sometimes angular,\nbecause of the leaves being unevenly moulded into their surfaces, and\ngenerally covered with a whitish meal-like powder.\n\n[Illustration: AMERICAN LUNA MOTH.\n\nLarva on Branch Below, and Cocoon on Twig Just Above.]\n\nIn June the Lunas awake from their death-like slumber, burst asunder\ntheir silken cerements, having at first made loose the compact threads\nby a fluid-ejection, and come out into the world in all the freshness\nand glory of a new and untried existence. Their wings, which expand\nfrom four and three-fourths to five and one-half inches, are of a\ndelicate light-green color, the hinder ones being prolonged into a tail\nof an inch and a half or more in length. Along the anterior margin\nof the fore-wings is a broad purple-brown stripe, extending also\nacross the back, and sending downwards a little branch to a glittering\neye-like spot near the middle of the wing. These eyes, of which there\nis one on each wing, are transparent in the centre, and encircled by\nwhite, yellow, blue and black rings. The hinder borders are more or\nless edged with purple-brown. All the nervures are very distinct, and\npale-brown in color. Near the body the wings are thickly invested with\nlong white hairs. The under sides, excepting that an indistinct line\nruns along the margin of both wings, are like to the upper. As for the\nbody, the thorax is white, occasionally yellowish or greenish, and\ncoursed by the purple-brown stripe that traverses the entire length\nof the upper edge of the wings; and the abdomen, similarly colored,\nand clothed with white, wool-like hairs. The head is small and white,\nand furnished with broad, flat and strongly pectinated antenn\u00e6, which\nare very much wider in the male. The legs are purple-brown, and poorly\nadapted for walking, but this defect is largely compensated for in\nthe wide stretch of wings, that fit their possessor for powerful and\nlong-sustained flight.\n\nSuch is Luna in her various transformations. Notwithstanding her\ngreat size and almost matchless loveliness, her habits are not\nproportionally noteworthy. The gift of superior beauty, in the insect\nas in the mammalian world, does not often carry with it a high order\nof intelligence. It is true the young Luna knows pretty well the\nsecret of dissembling. How quickly she perceives the approach of an\nenemy! And she knows how to deal with him, but her little trick of\nsimulating death, or an immobile twig, does not always succeed with\nthe wily spider, or artful ichneumon. That she is a tolerably good\nconnoisseur of the character of foods, there can be no question. You\ncannot deceive her. Take from her the foods her ancestors have used\nfor centuries untold, and substitute others she knows nothing about,\nand she is at once cognizant of the change. However hungry she may be,\nand in her early growing years she is ever a voracious feeder, she\nwill starve rather than eat what the unwritten law of her race has\nstrictly interdicted. I have known cases where death has ensued, or\nthe caterpillar has pupated earlier than usual, when alien food has\nbeen given it to eat. But in the beginning of life, just after the\nfirst skin-moulting has been effected, ere the little creature has\nattained its seventh day of age, no trouble is experienced in changing\nthe food, almost anything edible in the plant-line being eaten, though\nsome things with a more decided relish than others. In the matter of\ncocoon-weaving, where the necessary leaves for a basis cannot be\nobtained, as occurs in captivity, the inconvenience is overcome, but\nnot without difficulty. Leaves, you must know, are in Luna\u2019s way of\nthinking, as essential to cocoon-building as wooden or iron beams and\ngirders to man\u2019s own constructing. Without a framework of some sort,\nwhat a sorry attempt would we make at home-building, but Luna does\nsucceed, after a good deal of wise planning and no little worry, in\nproducing a house which is well worthy her effort.\n\nWhile the gaudy moth or butterfly, when contrasted in wisdom and sense\nwith the dingy-colored bee, may suffer in comparison, yet she is by\nno means the dull, stupid creature she is pictured to be. She lives,\nit is a fact, as has often been said, for the increase of her race,\nbut the interest she shows for the young she may never see, in laying\nher eggs upon the plant that is to serve them as food and home, puts\nher upon a rather high plane of intelligent existence. Luna\u2019s life, in\nthe perfect state, is usually quite brief. It is one of the happiest\nof honeymoons. Love conquers and destroys all other passions of her\nbeing, while her gormandizing offspring are never troubled by the\nardent flame which consumes even the thought of sipping the nectar of\nthe flowers that rival in beauty the wings of the mother, who is the\nperfect representation and embodiment of elegance and grace. While the\nearly insect lives and eats, the adult form, upon whom Dame Nature has\nexpended so much wealth of color and such symmetry of shape, which make\nher a \u201cthing of beauty and a joy forever,\u201d lives and dies, for in her\nseeming haste and forgetfulness the great mother of us all has made her\nwithout the essential means of tasting food, a delight and an enjoyment\nwhich the lords of creation are so wont to esteem the purpose and aim\nof all human existence.\n\n\n\n\nBASKET-CARRIERS.\n\n\nYou who have been to the country, in the summer, and who have kept your\neyes alive to the surroundings, have doubtless seen the Basket-worm\nfeeding upon the leaves of the quince, apple, peach, linden, and other\ndeciduous trees, as well as upon such evergreen as the arbor-vit\u00e6,\nNorway spruce, and red cedar. In Germany these worms are popularly\ndesignated _Sack-tr\u00e4ger_, or Sack-bearer, while the mature insect is\nspoken of as the House-builder Moth. Scientifically speaking, the\nlatter is called _Thyridopteryx ephemer\u00e6formis_, a name which is nearly\ntwice the length of the caterpillar it represents.\n\nDuring the winter the curious weather-beaten bags of these worms may be\nobserved hanging from the tree-branches, apparently without a trace of\nthe odd-looking creatures that hung them there the autumn before. If a\nnumber of these bags are gathered and cut open at this time, many of\nthem will be discovered to be empty, but the greater portion will be\nfound partly full of yellow eggs. Those which do not contain eggs are\nmale bags, and the empty chrysalis of the male will be found protruding\nfrom the lower extremity. Upon close examination these eggs will be\nobserved to be obovate in form, soft and opaque, about one-twentieth of\nan inch in length, and surrounded by more or less fawn-colored silky\ndown. If left to themselves, they hatch sometime in May, or early in\nJune.\n\nThe young which come from these eggs are of a brown color, very active\nin their movements, and begin at once to make for themselves coverings\nof silk, to which they fasten bits of the leaves of the tree on which\nthey are feeding, forming small cones that are closely adherent to\nthe leaf-surfaces. As the larv\u00e6 grow, they augment the size of their\nenclosures or bags from the bottom, until they become so large and\nheavy that they hang instead of remaining upright, as they did at first.\n\nBy the end of July the caterpillars become fully grown. They are now\nexceedingly restless, and may be seen wandering from branch to branch\nby means of their true legs which are projected from the mouths of\ntheir baskets, to which they keep firm hold, or suspended from a branch\nof a tree by a long silken thread of their own manufacture. When very\nabundant, as they were in certain localities during the season just\nended, they become a great nuisance, as one can hardly walk beneath the\ntrees without being inconvenienced by a dozen or more dangling into his\nface.\n\nRemoved from the case at this stage of existence and closely examined,\nthat portion of the body which has been covered by the bag will be\nseen to be soft, and of a dull brownish color, inclining to red at the\nsides, while the three anterior segments, which are exposed when the\ninsect is feeding or travelling, will be found to be horny and mottled\nwith black and white. The pro-legs on the middle and hinder segments,\nwhich are soft and fleshy, will show themselves fringed with numerous\nhooks, by which the larva is enabled to cling to the silken lining of\nits bag and drag it along wherever it goes. The external surface of the\nbag is rough and irregular, often presenting a beautiful ruffle-like\nappearance, which is due to the projecting portions of the stems and\nleaves which are woven into it. During their growing-period these\ncaterpillars are slow travellers, seldom leaving the tree on which they\nwere hatched. When about to change into chrysalids, they fasten their\nbags securely to the twigs on which they happen to be, and then undergo\ntheir change, the male chrysalis being very much smaller than the\nfemale, hardly one-third its size.\n\nWhen we examine the cases of the Basket-worm, hardly any two will be\nseen to be alike in their ornamentation. So completely is the outside\ncovered, when made upon the arbor-vit\u00e6, which seems to be a favorite\nfood-plant of the species, that the silken envelope is concealed from\nview. The bits of twigs and leaves are probably protective, and yet one\nwould think that the extremely tough case which covers the caterpillar\nwould be quite sufficient to protect it against all assaults of foes\nand stress of weather. Nevertheless, this leafy coat of mail, which\nsometimes wholly covers the sac, must certainly add very much to the\nprotective value of the covering. The caterpillar has a soft, hairless\nbody, and is thus more exposed than many of its neighbors, and nature,\nit would seem, has favored it far above all of its fellows.\n\nHow the worm manages to trim its coat in this manner must seem, to the\nuninitiated in such matters, wholly inexplicable. To enable the reader\nto understand the manner of operation, it will be necessary first to\nexplain its mode of feeding. The larva has perfect control of its own\nmovements, notwithstanding the fact that it carries its house upon its\nback. It can thus thrust its body out of the sac-mouth until nearly the\nwhole of it is exposed, and twist and bend itself in every direction.\nSpecimens have been met with that had dropped from the trees hanging\nby a thread and squirming, bending and snapping their bodies in the\nmost grotesque ways, while the case spun around like an old-fashioned\ndistaff. Now, when the caterpillar wants to feed it stretches its head\nand neck out of the case and moves them about until a satisfactory\nplace has been secured, which it clasps with its true legs, three pairs\nof hard, conical organs armed with sharp claws, and pulls up its body\nand commences to spin. The spinning-organs are near the mouth, and\nafter several movements of the head, as though smearing the liquid\nviscid silk upon the leaf, the head is drawn back, drawing out with it\na short thread. A similar movement is then made against one side of\nthe mouth of the sac, the process being repeated several times until\na stout stay-line is spun by which the larva hangs securely. Now the\ncreature is ready to feed. The behavior, however, varies a great deal.\nIn feeding upon the white pine it secures itself to one leaf by its\nstay-line, while it reaches to an adjoining leaf which it bites off,\nand sitting erect, as it were, in its house, comfortably chews off the\nend which is continually shored upward by the first and second pairs of\ntrue legs that stand out free and untrammelled above the sac.\n\n[Illustration: HOUSE-BUILDER MOTH.\n\nYoung in House, Winged Male, Young Suspended and Bag-like Female in\nLongitudinally-Split Cocoon.]\n\nBut more frequently the worm feeds without separating the leaf from the\npoint of suspension. By making itself fast to the under part of the\nleaf it is thus enabled to reach the edge, which it gnaws round and\nround until it has completed its destruction.\n\nSo securely does the caterpillar hold on to its house, that one would\nsuppose that its body was lashed to the inside. But no, its body is\nunhampered, for it can turn itself easily around in its case, and go\nout at either end, although the head is generally directed upward.\nIt clings to the inside with the hooks upon its hinder feet, and so\ntenaciously, too, that the writer has never been able to pull one\nout, being checked by the fear of tearing the creature in two. And\nnow to the mode of attaching the leaf-cuttings to the case. This\nis always done at or near the mouth of the sac. The Ephemeraform\nlarva is a growing creature, unlike the moth itself, which emerges\na perfect insect of full growth. It commences life as a small worm,\neats small quantities, and, as may be observed, down towards the\nfoot of the case sews on very small tags. But after it has fastened\non these pieces to the mouth, it grows itself, and so also does the\ncase, which it continually stretches and enlarges. Hence the mouth of\nthe case is continually changing, moving upward as the worm feeds,\nso that the pieces sewed upon the cap of the case thus appear, in an\nadult caterpillar, precisely as they are seen scattered along the\noutside from top to bottom. And now, as to how the pieces are put into\nthe case, I shall endeavor to explain. That the worm cuts purposely\nthrough the twig which it needs for the case, I feel certain. Of course\nthe outer or detached part drops down. But, while eating, the worm\nfrequently, quite constantly, indeed, spreads its viscid silk along the\nleaf and so keeps it attached on both sides to the upper rim of the\nsac, or to its own mouth-parts, and thus the tip of the twig or leaf,\ninstead of falling to the ground when it is severed from the stem,\nsimply drops alongside of the case, to which it is held by the slight\nfilament that attaches it to the sac, or, as happens in many instances,\nremains attached to the caterpillar\u2019s spinneret. In either case the\nleaf, twig or stem remains, and, after being drawn up, adjusted and\ntightened by the worm, adheres tightly. As the creature is forever\nmoving its spinning-tubes around the top of the sac, these fastenings\nare being continually strengthened, and thus one piece after another is\nadded, and so the basket grows.\n\nWhile the case of the Basket-worm, and even that part of its body\nwhich it chooses to expose to view, are known to the casual observer,\nyet but few persons have ever seen the mature insect. The female moth\nis wingless, and never leaves the bag, but makes her way to its lower\norifice, and there awaits the attendance of the male. She is not only\nwithout wings, but is devoid of legs also, being, in short, nothing\nmore than a yellowish bag of eggs with a ring of soft, pale-brown,\nsilky hair near the tail. The male, on the other hand, has transparent\nwings and a black body, and is very active on the wing during the\nwarmer portions of the day. After pairing the female deposits her\neggs, intermingled with fawn-colored down, within the empty pupa-case,\nand when this task is completed works her way out of the case, drops\nexhausted to the ground and dies.\n\nThough a Southern rather than a Northern insect, yet it is found as far\nnorth as New Jersey and New York, and occasionally in Massachusetts.\nIt is extremely local in character, abounding in one particular\nneighborhood and totally unknown a few miles away. Where they occur in\nabundance they often almost entirely defoliate the trees they attack,\nbut this can be easily prevented by gathering the cases containing\nthe eggs for the next brood during the winter and destroying them.\nHand-picking the cases with the worms in them, where their ravages\nare confined to small trees and shrubbery, will also help to hold\nthem in check. Nature has provided two species of ichneumon for their\ndestruction. One of them, _Cryptus inquisitor_, is about two-fifths of\nan inch in length, and the other, _Hemiteles thyridopteryx_, is nearly\none-third of an inch. Five or six of this latter species will sometimes\noccupy the body of a single caterpillar, and after destroying their\nvictim spin for themselves tough, white, silken cocoons within the bag.\n\n\n\n\nHONEY-PRODUCING CATERPILLARS.\n\n\nLate in June, growing abundantly in the edges of woods throughout this\nregion, may be seen the _Cimicifuga racemosa_ of botanists, popularly\ncalled Rattleweed, or Black Snakeroot. It sends up a stalk, sometimes\nbranching, four or five feet, terminating in a spike or spikes, six to\nten inches long, of round, greenish-white buds, which stand upon short\nstems, and are arranged in rows about the stalk, diminishing in size\ntill they reach the pointed top. The lower buds, when they are about\nthe size of an ordinary pea, open first, and the flowering proceeds\nby degrees up the spike, so that buds are to be met with throughout a\nperiod of from four to six weeks. The flowers emit an intensely sweet\nodor, which renders them attractive to butterflies and bees.\n\nBut should you examine these buds with care, you will find a number\nof small caterpillars, the larva of the beautiful Azure Butterfly,\ncalled _Lyc\u00e6na pseudargiolus_, feeding thereon. During its younger\nstages it is white, and so near the color of these buds that it is\nwell protected, and very difficult to find. Later on, it may be white\nor greenish, and often diversified with a few black or brown patches,\nirregularly diffused over the surface.\n\nWhen mature the larva is one-half of an inch in length, and, like all\nLyc\u00e6nid larv\u00e6, is onisciform, or shaped like the little pill-bug, so\ncommon under stones and logs. The head is very small, and is placed\non the end of a long, green neck, which at the junction is of the\nthickness of the head, but gradually enlarges, and seems to be fixed at\nthe hinder part of the second segment, the latter being hollowed out\nso as to form for it a sheath. In the final larval stages this segment\nis elevated, transversely compressed, and inclines forward, thereby\nshielding the head as the larva moves about. When quiescent the neck\nand head are wholly retracted, and as the former, when fully extended,\nis very much longer than the depth of the second segment, it must\npossess considerable elasticity.\n\nThe larva feeds on the heart of the bud, and to reach this cuts away\nthe surface on one side till an opening is made sufficiently large to\nadmit its head; and as it feeds the second segment is firmly pressed\nagainst the bud so as to permit the utmost elongation of the neck. Thus\nit is enabled to eat out the contents of the bud, and only desists\nwhen there remains but the empty shell. When so engaged the anterior\nsegments are curved up and the others rest upon the stalk of the plant,\nbut very small larv\u00e6 repose wholly in the bud. Not a single instance\nhas been observed where an open flower has been attacked, but the\ndestruction of buds is very extensive.\n\nBut now comes the most remarkable part of the larval history of\nPseudargiolus. The whole upper part of the larva is covered with small,\nglassy, star-shaped processes, scarcely raised above the surrounding\nsurface, from the centre of which spring short, filamentous bodies,\nbristling with feathery-looking tentacles, which the caterpillar has\nthe power of protruding at will. It throws them out like the tentacles\nof Papilio or the horns of snails. More singular still is an opening\nupon the eleventh segment, placed transversely and surrounded by a\nraised cushion, about which the granulations that cover the body of the\ncaterpillar are particularly dense. From the middle of this opening,\nwhich is shaped like a button-hole, issues, at the caterpillar\u2019s will,\na sort of transparent, hemispherical vesicle, from which is emitted a\ngood-sized drop of fluid, which the animal is capable of reproducing\nwhen absorbed.\n\n[Illustration: PSEUDARGIOLUS BUTTERFLY.\n\nLarva Feeding on Bud of Black Snakeroot, and Guarded by Ants.]\n\nFour species of ants may be seen attending, not the small larv\u00e6,\nbut those that have attained the nearly mature condition. They are\ninvariably found on or near the larva. Their actions, as they run\nover the body, caressing with antenn\u00e6, evidently persuading the larva\nto emit a drop of the fluid, are alike curious and interesting. Most\nof this caressing is done about the anterior segments, and while the\nants are thus occupied, or rather, while they are absent from the last\nsegments, the tubes of the twelfth seem expanded to their full extent,\nand so remain, without retracting or throbbing, until the ants come\nhurrying along with great excitement and set foot or antenna directly\non or close by the tubes, when they are instantly withdrawn. The ants\npay no heed to the tubes. They seek for nothing from them, and expect\nnothing. But they turn at once to the eleventh, caress the back of that\nsegment, and, putting their mouths to its opening, exhibit an eager\ndesire and expectancy. Suddenly a dull green, fleshy, mammilloid organ\nprotrudes, and from the summit of which comes a tiny drop of clear\ngreen fluid, which the ants, some two or three perhaps standing about\nit, lap greedily up. As the drop disappears, this organ sinks in at\nthe apex, and is so withdrawn. The ants then run about, some in quest\nof other larv\u00e6 upon the same stem, some with no definite object, but\npresently return and pursue the caressings as before. The intervals\nbetween the appearance of the globule vary with the condition of the\nlarva. Where exhaustion by long-continued solicitings occurs, some\nminutes elapse before renewal is effected, the tubes in the meantime\nremaining concealed. Fresh larv\u00e6, however, require little or no urging,\nand globule follows globule, as many as six emissions in seventy-five\nseconds, without even a retracting of the organ. Often the presence\nof the ant, when the larva is aware of it, evokes, all unsought, the\nsugary fluid.\n\nOrdinarily the tubes expand when the ants are absent from the last\nsegments, and are certainly withdrawn when they come near. These tubes,\nfrom all appearances, serve as signals to the ants. When the latter\ndiscover them expanded, they know that a refection is ready, and rush\nto the opening in the eleventh segment where it is to be found. The\ntubes certainly serve no other purpose. No visible duct appears in the\ndome of the tube when largely magnified, and the ants seek nothing\nfrom it or the twelfth segment. They cannot be used to intimidate,\nor to frighten away enemies, for in the younger stages, when the\nlarv\u00e6 have the most to dread, neither the tube nor the organ in the\neleventh segment is available. The outward openings, and the orifice\nin the eleventh segment, exist in the youngest larval stages, but\nare functionless until the larva has nearly attained maturity. Ants\nseldom attempt to caress or solicit young larv\u00e6, but pass them by with\nindifference, seemingly knowing that they cannot emit the secretion.\nWhen an ant approaches one of these immature larv\u00e6, the larva manifests\nconsiderable annoyance, throwing up the hinder segments, as though the\nant was an enemy which it was desirous to get rid of. If the tubes\ncould now be thrust out, the ant would be attracted, rather than\nrepelled.\n\nBut when the period arrives that the tubes are free, and the secretion\nis ready to be ejected, which is perhaps just after the third\nskin-moulting, and it cannot be earlier, the larva grows now quiet and\nsubmissive, inviting the attentions of the ants, and rewarding their\nantennal caresses.\n\nFour species of parasites affect these larv\u00e6. Two are dipterous. These,\nwhich are of the size of the common house-fly, deposit their eggs,\nduring the second larval stage, on the back, and near the junction of\nthe second and third segments. In process of time the grubs hatch and\neat their way into the larva, to emerge when the latter has become\nfully grown, thus destroying its life. Another of these enemies is a\nminute hymenopterous insect, whose egg is placed in the very young\nlarva, probably in the first stage of its life. The grub, in this case,\neats its way out of the half-grown larva, spins a silken cocoon, from\nwhich in a few days issues the newly-matured parasite. The destruction\nof larv\u00e6 by these, and very likely by other similar parasites, is\ndoubtless immense. But no parasite attacks, it does seem, the mature\nlarva, for, if it did, the grub of the former would live within and\ndestroy the chrysalis, and instead of a butterfly emerging therefrom\nwould come forth the parasite. Multitudes of chrysalids of other\nspecies of butterflies are thus destroyed, but Pseudargiolus, at this\nstage, appears to enjoy a singular immunity from enemies.\n\nWhy this species, and doubtless many others of its family, are thus\nfavored, will soon be apparent. Ants may be seen wherever these larv\u00e6\nmay be found, ever ready to receive the honeyed secretion when it\npleases the little creatures to eject it, but all the while exercising\nthe closest vigilance lest some wary ichneumon may come along and deal\na thrust of its ovipositor, which means misery and ultimate death to\ntheir helpless friends. So intent is the larva, with its head buried\nin the flower, upon its feeding, and so quietly and stealthily does\nthe ichneumon approach its intended victim, that hardly a single\nindividual would be left to tell the story of its existence were it\nnot for the ants. The larv\u00e6 know their protectors, it would seem from\ntheir actions, and are able and willing to reward their services. The\nadvantage is mutual, and the association friendly. No compelling by\nrough means on the one part is noticeable, and no reluctant yielding\non the other. All demonstrations made by the ants are of the most\ngentle character. They caress, entreat, and as they drink in the sweet\nfluid, lifting their heads to prolong the swallowing, they manifest to\nthe utmost their satisfaction and delight. It is amusing to see them\nlick away the last trace, caressing the back of the segment with their\nantenn\u00e6 as they do so, as though they were coaxing for a little more.\n\nIn Pseudargiolus the tubes are white, cylindrical, nearly equal in\nsize, rounded at summit, and studded with little tuberculations\nfrom which arise the tentacles. These last are tapering, armed with\nsmall spurs set in whorls, and stand out straight, making a white\nhemispherical dome over the cylinder, but none of them fall below the\nplane of the base of the dome, nor do they ever hang limp or lie across\nthe dome, as is the case in a European species. When the tube comes up\nthe rays rise in a close pencil, and take position as the dome expands;\nbut, on the contrary, when the tube is withdrawn, the top of the dome\nsinks first, the rays coming together in pencil again.\n\n[Illustration: VIOLACEA BUTTERFLY.\n\nLarva, Protected by Ants, Feeding on Flower-buds of Dogwood.]\n\n_Lyc\u00e6na pseudargiolus_ is subject to great variation, and occurs under\nmany forms, most of which having been regarded as distinct species. In\nthe early spring Violacea appears, and is characterized by dimorphism\nin the female, some of that sex being blue, others black. This form,\nwhich may be called the winter form, deposits its eggs in the clusters\nof flower-buds of the Dogwood, the young larv\u00e6 obtaining their first\nfood by boring into the buds, but later on eating their way into\nthe ovaries. The flies that come from these larv\u00e6 late in May are\nPseudargiolus, which, as stated before, lays its eggs on _Cimicifuga\nracemosa_, most of the resulting butterflies over-wintering to produce\nViolacea. A small percentage of the May chrysalids give butterflies as\nlate as September, which are smaller than the parent-form, and also\ndiffer therefrom in the more decided character of the marginal crescent\ndiscal spots on the under side of the wings. There does not seem to be\nany regular second summer brood, that is, there are but two regular\nannual broods, the Violacea of March and the Pseudargiolus of May, the\nindividuals happening to emerge in July, August and September being\nirregular visitants, for which the name of Neglecta has been given. The\nfemales of the last form lay their eggs upon _Actinomeris squarrosa_,\nand the chrysalids, thence resulting, give Violacea the next spring.\n\nLarv\u00e6 feeding on Dogwood vary much in color from those that feed on the\nBlack Snakeroot, few being white in the last stages, but nearly all\ndull-crimson or green, or a mingling of the two. Nevertheless, a small\npercentage of the larv\u00e6 on _Cimicifuga racemosa_ are also green or\ncrimson, though the most of them white. Ants do not seem to visit the\nlarv\u00e6 on the Dogwood, and on being introduced to them in confinement\ntreat them with indifference. On rare occasions tubes have been\ndiscovered in the eleventh segment, fully expanded, and accompanied by\na pulsating movement, but no teasing or irritating availed to make them\nappear. Even severe pressure applied to the sides of the segment failed\nto force out any fluid. As with the fall food-plant, _Actinomeris\nsquarrosa_, the Dogwood is neither sweet nor juicy, and it is possible\nthat the larv\u00e6 feeding on these plants do not secrete the fluid.\n\nEggs of this polymorphic species are round, flat at base, the top\nflattened and depressed, and have a diameter of one-fiftieth of an\ninch. Their ground-color is a delicate green, the entire surface being\ncovered with a white lace-work, the meshes of which being mostly\nlozenge-shaped, with a short rounded process at each angle. In from\nfour to eight days the egg hatches into a larva, which is scarcely\none-twenty-fifth of an inch long, and whose upper side is rounded,\nthe under being flat. On each side of the dorsal line is a row of\nwhite clubbed hairs, with similar ones at the base and in front of the\nsecond joint, making a fringe around the body. The head is very small,\nobovoid, retractile and black; the legs retractile, and the color a\ngreenish-white or brownish-yellow.\n\nThe first moult occurs in from three to five days, the larva having\nincreased to twice its former length, while very little difference is\nmanifest in the coloration. In from three to five days the caterpillar\nhas again changed its skin, doubled its length, assumed more pronounced\ncolors, which are diversified in some with mottlings upon back and\nsides, and developed along the back, from the third to the tenth joint,\na low, broad, continuous, tuberculous ridge, cleft to the body at\nthe junction of the segments, the anterior edge of each joint being\ndepressed, the sides incurved. The third moult takes place in three or\nfour days more, but there is very little change from the former period.\nThree or four days subsequent to this change occurs the fourth or final\nmoult, and in five or six days from this the larva is ready to pass\ninto the chrysalis state.\n\nIn its mature form the larva is about one-half of an inch in length.\nThe body is onisciform, flattened at base, furnished with retractile\nlegs, and has the back elevated into a rounded ridge, which slopes\nbackwards from the sixth segment. The sides are rather deeply hollowed,\nand in the middle of each segment, from the third to the eleventh, is\na vertical, narrow depression. The last segments are flattened, the\nlast of all terminating roundly, its sides being narrowed and slightly\nincurved, while the second segment is flattened, arched and bent\nnearly flat over the head. Standing on the body is a ridge, tubercular\nin nature, which in each segment from the third to the eleventh is\ndistinct and cleft to the body. In color, specimens vary. Some examples\nare white, others decidedly greenish, but many have the posterior slope\nof the second segment black or dark brown, while a few have most of\nthe back a dark brown, irregularly mottling a light ground, or with\nsmall brown patches diffused over the back, but mostly on the anterior\nsegments. The entire surface is velvety. This appearance is caused by\nminute stellate glossy processes, scarcely raised above the surface,\nmostly six-rayed, and sending from the centre a concolored filamentous\nspine a little longer than the rays. These stars are arranged in nearly\nregular rows, and are light, except in the brown patches, where both\nstar and spine are brown. This velvet-like condition of the skin only\nreveals its true composition under a magnifying glass.\n\nOn the eleventh segment, near the posterior edge of the back, is a\ntransverse slit, in a sub-oval spot, from which proceeds a membranous\nprocess; and on the twelfth, on each side, is a mark like a stigma, but\na little larger, from which proceeds a membranous tube, ending in a\ncrown of feathery tentacles, these three special organs being exposed\nor concealed at the will of the larva. The head is small, obovoid, dark\nbrown, and is placed at the end of a long, pale green, conical neck,\nwhich is rectractile, both neck and head being covered by the second\nsegment.\n\nBefore changing to a chrysalis, the summer larv\u00e6 sometimes turn pink,\nand from pink to brown, or become brown without the pink stage,\nalthough others remain white or change to rusty brown. The body\ncontracts to about three-tenths of an inch and takes on a rounded form.\n\nThe chrysalis is dark-brown or yellow-brown, but varying in color, the\nwing-cases being dark or green-tinted. Two sub-dorsal rows of blackish\ndots are found on the abdomen, and sometimes a dark dorsal line. In\nthe few instances in which the butterfly emerges the same season\nthe duration of this stage is from thirty to sixty days, but most\nchrysalids pass the winter and mature in the spring.\n\n[Illustration: NEGLECTA BUTTERFLY.\n\nLarva Feeding on Central Florets of Actinomeris, and Guarded by Ants.]\n\nNow for a description of the butterfly. In general terms, the upper\nside of the wings of the male is a deep azure-blue, with a delicate\nterminal black border. On the apical part of the fore-wings the fringes\nare black, but white and barred with black on the rest of these wings\nand on the hind-wings. In the female the fore-wings have a broad,\nblackish outer border, in some examples extending along the costa,\nwhile the hind-wings have a blackish costa and a row of dark spots\nalong the outer margin. Usually the ground-color is a lighter blue\nin the females than in the males. A pale silvery gray, with a silky\nlustre, is the color of the under side of the wings, which is relieved\nby a row of spots along the outer margin, each preceded by a crescent,\na curved row of elongate spots across the disk of the fore-wings, and\nseveral spots on the basal part of the hind-wings, all the markings\nbeing of a pale brown color. Violacea, the so-called winter form, has\nthe dark parts and crescents on the under side of the wings quite\nprominent, but they do not, either in the outer border or in the basal\nportion, coalesce. Pseudargiolus, the largest of the series, there\nbeing but three forms in Pennsylvania, expands one and four-tenths\ninches. The upper surface of the male usually has a terminal border\nto the hind-wings of the same shade of blue as is visible on the\nfore-wings, the middle area of the hind-wings being a little paler\nthan this border on the fore-wings. On the under side of the wings the\nspots are much smaller than on the preceding form. Neglecta, which\nresembles Pseudargiolus, and has the spots on the under surface small,\nis a smaller form, never expanding more than one and one-tenth inches.\nIt is a summer form when there is more than one generation in a season,\nranging from Canada, through New England to West Virginia and Georgia,\nand occurring also in Montana and Nevada. Violacea has a more extended\nlimit, being found in Alaska, British America, Ontario, Quebec, New\nEngland to West Virginia, and Colorado, while Pseudargiolus ranges from\nWisconsin south to Tennessee, and on the east from Pennsylvania to\nGeorgia.\n\n\n\n\nHIBERNATING BUTTERFLIES.\n\n\nEarly in March, and often while the snow yet lingers upon the\nlandscape, may be seen flying in and out among the forest-trees, or\nlazily meandering along some deserted road through a thicket, the\nbeautiful Antiopa. Her rich crimson dress, so dark that it almost\nseems black, with its buff-colored, sky-dotted border, serves to\ndistinguish her from her no less interesting, but smaller, sisters of\nthe Vanessa family of butterflies. But the Antiopas you then see are\ngenerally ragged and shabby, which is not to be wondered at, when it is\nconsidered that it is their last year\u2019s dresses they wear, for late in\nthe preceding August they had their being, and all through the autumn\nhad been exposed to a hundred misfortunes or more while seeking their\nliving.\n\nBut with the coming of frost and of cold comes the blighting of\nflowers. A feeling of torpor in consequence steals over their once\nbouyant spirits, and into some crevice in a barn or a wood-pile or\nstone-heap they creep, and there sleep the winter away, till the\nwarmth of the sun from his southward-bound journey returning sets the\nbrown buds a-swelling, when out of their hibernating retreats they\nleisurely crawl for a flying stroll through the awakening trees. Slow\nand deliberate their movements are, as though some grave and momentous\nevent were dependent thereon.\n\nNever have I watched such actions, so human-like have they seemed,\nthan the conviction has gone home to my mind that they plainly evinced\na thought and a purpose, which had their origin, if not in a brain,\nat least in one of the several ganglions which largely make up their\nwonderful and somewhat complicated nervous machinery.\n\nNo matter how low in intelligence she may rank, Antiopa has\nnevertheless, or all experience is at fault, some general ideas of the\ntime and fitness of things. From her gloomy abode in the wood-pile she\nhas emerged, while all the gay butterfly world, barring a few familiar\nexceptions, is asleep, for a tour of investigation. Her venture is\nseldom ill-timed, for the violets have preceded her, and from their\ndelicately curved flagons proffer her food and refreshment.\n\nCool and unhealthful as the mornings are at first, it is not till\nthe sun is nearly overhead that she leaves her retreat, for what of\nplant-life exists is then, under the full force of his beams, at its\nvery best. Three or four hours a day, with few intervals of rest,\nshe is actively on wing, regaling herself with exercise and food,\nthus storing little by little her body with some of the strength and\nvivacity which were hers when the famine of winter overtook her and\nforced her to retirement, so as the better to prepare for that work,\nthe propagation of her kind, which is the principal, but not the only,\naim of her existence. After four in the afternoon her presence is\nscarce, as she has sought her old, or some other, place of shelter and\nsecurity.\n\nBut when the days have grown longer and warmer, and the trees are\narrayed in their livery of green, she is in the fields bright and\nearly, and often ere the dew has disappeared from the grass and the\nflowers. The most restless of beings she now is. Anon alighting upon a\nbush for a momentary rest, then off for a dozen or more rods, when the\npresence of some favorite blossom meets her quick sight and invites her\nto pause, which she does, but only for a second to quench her thirst.\nWhere willows, or elms, or poplars abound, she is more frequently seen\nlater on in May, but flying more slowly and sedately than ever before.\nThe flowers pass unheeded. She seems in a dream, in a reverie. But all\nof a sudden she quickens her speed. You look for the cause. There, in\nthe distance, another is seen, just like her in mien, some would-be\nsuitor for her hand and affections. He enters his suit, he pleads his\ngreat love, and awaits her sweet pleasure. The answer is brief, and\nsoon by their actions, as high up in the air they circle and circle,\ncaressing each other with strokes of the antenn\u00e6, the story is told\nthat his love has been requited. A brief honey-moon of two or three\ndays and the love-scene is over, and the two settle down to the prosy\nrealities of everyday life. The male goes back to his old-time pursuit\nof rifling the flowers of their honeyed treasures, whilst the female,\nupon whom devolves the duty of providing for the offspring whom she\nis never likely to see, looks scrutinizingly about for her favorite\ntrees, the poplar, the elm, or the willow. In her selection of a tree\na wonderfully keen discernment is shown, for she seldom, if ever,\nmistakes her plant-species.\n\n[Illustration: MOURNING-CLOAK BUTTERFLY.\n\nLarva Feeding on Willow Leaf, and Chrysalis Suspended from Twig.]\n\nWhen a choice has been made, no time is expended in fruitless endeavor.\nShe proceeds at once to deposit her eggs. They are laid in a cluster\nround the twig, and near the petiole of a young leaf, upon which the\nnewly-hatched larv\u00e6 are to feed. The eggs hatch inside of a week into\nsmall black spiny caterpillars which, in their early stages, are very\nsocial in their habits. Just before the final skin-moulting they\nseparate, each caterpillar living alone, the necessity for food, which\ntheir very vigorous appetites now demand, being the impelling motive.\nIn a state of maturity the larv\u00e6 are two inches in length. They are\nblack, and minutely dotted with white, which gives them a greyish look.\nA row of brick-red spots are found down the back, and their body is\narmed with many black, rather long and slightly branching spines. The\nhead is black, and roughened with small black tubercles.\n\nHaving completed their period of feeding, which they do in about four\nweeks, the caterpillars attach themselves by means of their tails to\na fence-rail, a window-ledge, or some such place, and pass into the\nchrysalis state, which is accomplished in about four days. In this\ncondition they present an odd-looking appearance. The head will be\nfound to be deeply notched, or furnished with two ear-like prominences.\nThe sides are very angular. In the middle of the thorax there is a thin\nprojection, somewhat like a Roman nose in profile, while on the back\nare two rows of very sharp tubercles of a tawny color, which contrast\nvery markedly in coloration with the dark-brown of the rest of the\nchrysalis. Fifteen days, when the weather is favorable, are sufficient\nfor the development of the imago, or butterfly. As maturity approaches,\nthe chrysalis-shell becomes quite soft, and the efforts of the imago\nto free itself from this covering are facilitated by the ejection of a\nblood-red fluid, which rots the case, while it acts, at the same time,\nas a lubricant to the emerging butterfly.\n\nWhen these caterpillars are very abundant, as was the case in the\nvicinity of Germantown some twenty-five years ago, every fence-rail\nwas hung with chrysalids, as many as a dozen being found upon a\nsingle rail. The caterpillars even climbed up the sides of the houses\nand suspended themselves from the window-ledges and the edges of the\noverhanging shingles. When the butterflies emerged, great blotches\nof the fluid bespattered the fences and houses as though the clouds\nhad rained great drops of blood. The willows and poplars were alive\nwith the caterpillars, and even the maples were overrun when there\ncame a scarcity of the leaves of the natural food-plants. Green\ncaterpillar-hunters were everywhere plentiful, and the writer could\nhave taken hundreds of specimens, but these highly-useful beetles made\na very sorry attempt in holding the enemy in check.\n\nTwo broods of the caterpillars are raised, one in June and the other\nin August, but the agencies by nature employed for their destruction\nso effectually accomplish their mission that hardly a season brings to\nmy notice a dozen full-grown larv\u00e6. _Vanessa antiopa_, as this species\nis called by the scientific student, or Mourning-Cloak by people and\namateurs, is generally found through the whole of North America. In\nEngland, where it is popularly called the Camberwell Beauty, because\nspecimens were first taken near Camberwell, it is the rarest of\nbutterflies; while on the Continent, as in this country, it is a very\nplentiful insect.\n\n\n\n\nLEAF-CUTTER BEE.\n\n\nFew hymenoptera of the family of bees are so little known as the\nMegachilid\u00e6, or Leaf-cutters. They are stout, thick-bodied insects,\nwith large, square heads, and armed with sharp, scissors-like jaws,\nwhich admirably fit them for the work they have to do in preparing\nmaterials for the building of their homes.\n\nOur commonest species, _Megachile centuncularis_, is about the size of\nthe hive-bee. In gardens and nurseries where shrubbery abounds, it is\nvery prevalent, especially the female, which is readily distinguished\nby a thick mass of stout, dense hair on the under side of the tail,\nwhich serves as a carrier of pollen. The honey- and bumble-bees differ\nmaterially from them, for they have the hind tibi\u00e6 and basal joints of\nthe tarsi very much broadened for that purpose.\n\nMegachile is by no means a remarkable-looking insect. Judging from\nits very humble exterior, one can hardly believe it possessed of the\nwonderful intelligence, as shown in its wise provisions for its young,\nwhich it is found to display.\n\nOrdinarily the female, who is entrusted with the discharge of this very\nessential business, places her nest in the solid earth underneath some\nspecies of shrub. A vertical hole, three inches in depth, is dug, and\nthis is enlarged into a horizontal gallery, some five or six inches in\nlength.\n\nYou should see the little creature in her never-tiring work of\npreparing material for her nest. In and out among the roses she goes,\nexamining each leaf with the most critical care, and only desisting\nfrom her labor when a suitable one has been chosen. She scans it\nover and over, and at last from a position on its upper or nether\nsurface proceeds to cut a piece just fitted for her work, which,\nheavy as it seems, is seized between the legs and jaws and carried on\nswiftly-agitated wings to her burrow.\n\n[Illustration: LEAF-CUTTER BEE AT WORK.\n\nTwo Tunnels Being Filled With Leaf-Cells.]\n\nTen pieces or more, each differing in shape, are cut and borne away,\nwhich the ingenious insect tailor twists and folds, the one within the\nother, until is formed a funnel-like cone, whose end is narrower than\nits mouth. So perfectly joined are the parts, that even when dry they\nhave been found to retain their form and integrity. A cake of honey\nand pollen, for the use of some yet unborn Leaf-cutter, is deposited\nwithin, and on this, in due time, is laid a single small egg. Nought\nnow remains but to wall up the cell. A circle of leaf, of the size of\nthe opening, is cut, and this is closely adjusted within the wall of\nrolled-up leaves. Sometimes as many as four pieces are thus utilized.\nA second cell, similarly built, is fitted to the first, and this is\nsucceeded by eight or ten others. When all is completed, the eggs being\nlaid and the cells all victualled, the hole of the shaft is closed with\nthe earth that was thrown out, and so carefully, too, that not a trace\nof her doings remains to tell us the story.\n\nLike other insects, Megachile is occasionally prone to change. Some\nlaborers while digging, one early spring-day, some thirteen years ago,\nabout a cluster of plants of _Spir\u00e6a corymbosa_, a species allied to\nthe roses and cinquefoils, came unexpectedly upon a dozen or more cells\nof this insect, arranged horizontally in layers, some three or four\ninches below the ground\u2019s surface. These cells were three-fourths of\nan inch in length, one-fourth in width, and formed of the leaves of\nSpir\u00e6a. Six circles, of three pieces each, constituted the cell, and\nthese were so arranged that each succeeding circle was made to project\nbut slightly beyond its predecessor. Six circular pieces, larger than\nseemed needful, closed up the opening of each cell. That there was a\npurpose here manifested was very apparent. This purpose, as it appeared\nto the writer, was the better accommodation by the hollow surface of\nthe cell that was to follow, and the giving of greater firmness and\nsecurity to the entire structure.\n\nMore curious, however, were some cells that were found the ensuing\nyear, which, in looks, resembled very closely those of Pelop\u00e6us, a\nspecies of wasp, familiarly designated the Mud-dauber. These cells,\nin numbers of three, were adherent to the rafters of a hardly-used\ngarret. In form, and in the peculiar combination of their pellets of\nclay, they were the exact counterpart of the Mud-dauber\u2019s. But the\ncurious funnel-like arrangement of leaves on the inside, so strikingly\ncharacteristic of the Megachilid\u00e6, was evidence of the most positive\nkind that Pelop\u00e6us had nothing whatever to do with their putting\ntogether. It bespoke a piece of work that was entirely beyond the\nhighest capability of her being to execute.\n\nEach of the included leafy cells was one and one-eighth inches in\nlength, and just barely exceeding one-fourth in width. Elliptical\npieces of Spir\u00e6a, less in size than those previously described, but\narranged in a similar manner, composed the several structures. Within\neach, a dead but perfectly-formed Megachile, encased in a cylindrical\nbag of silk, was found, so that there could be no possible doubt of the\nbuilder. That this inner fabric was the labor of some mother Megachile\nadmits not of a scruple, for no other bee is known to construct a nest\nof like character. But what of the outer enveloping fabric of mud?\nIt was clearly impossible for the skill of a Megachile, who, while\ncertainly fitted for tunnelling the ground and for snipping circular\nand elliptical pieces of suited dimensions from leaves with all a\ntailor\u2019s precision, would find herself wofully unadapted for the making\nof mortar and the building of nests, in imitations of tunnels, out of\npellets of mud that had to be moulded into consistency and shape by the\njaws of the builder. Pelop\u00e6us alone, of all hymenopters, possesses the\nability and means of making such structures. Megachile, who is known\nto occasionally build under the boards of the roof of a piazza, might\nsometimes in her quest of a place appropriate the discarded cells of\nsome pre-existent Pelop\u00e6us for nesting purposes, but she runs a very\ngreat risk in so doing, for the Mud-dauber does not always build a\nfresh home for her treasures, save when there is a lack of the last\nyear\u2019s structures. Old nests, when found, are put in speedy repair and\nmade to do as invaluable a service.\n\n\n\n\nBATTLE BETWEEN ANTS.\n\n\nWhilst reclining one beautiful May afternoon in the shade of an oak\nthat stood on the outskirts of a thicket, my attention was arrested by\nthe activity and bustle presented by a colony of yellow ants, which\nproved to be the _Formica flava_, so common everywhere.\n\nScattered indiscriminately about were numberless larv\u00e6 in various\nstages of growth, and not a few immobile pup\u00e6, that had been brought up\nfrom subterranean domiciles by thoughtful nurses, while here and there\nwere a dozen or more ants, but recently escaped from their mummy-cases,\nbasking in the sun\u2019s warmth, preparatory to entering upon the duties of\nthe formicarium.\n\nThe very picture of restlessness and anxiety were these full-grown\nneuters. That something was transpiring, or was about to transpire,\nseemed not unlikely, for ov\u00e6, larv\u00e6 and pup\u00e6 were being quickly carried\nto places of concealment in the earth, or hustled away among the\nentangling and interlacing grasses.\n\nLooking about for the cause of all this excitement, the truth at once\nbecame painfully apparent. Three large, burly ants, representatives of\n_Formica subterranea_, a black species that is everywhere abundant in\nwooded regions, had intruded their obnoxious presence into the happy\ncolony, bent, as it was evident, on pillage or slaughter.\n\nWere plunder the inspiring motive, these giant invaders were not slow\nto learn that their weaker kin, though lacking their strength, could\nmore than match them in cunning and stratagem.\n\nNot daring to attack the foe, and being unwilling that any of their\nnumber should be led into slavery, or suffer aught at the hands of\nothers, they immediately set to work to destroy all whom it was\nimpossible to protect.\n\n[Illustration: BATTLE BETWEEN ANTS.\n\nYoung Destroyed by Nurses.]\n\nDetailed as most of the neuters seemed to be in looking after the wants\nof the immature, there were a few observed running hither and thither\nand seizing in their jaws the newly-developed, not to bear them out of\nthe reach of danger, as was at first supposed, but to kill them so as\nto prevent them from falling a living prey into the hands of the enemy.\n\nKnowing the sympathy and affection which the nurses are ever wont to\ncherish towards the objects of their care, this act of cruelty struck\nme as something very astonishing and peculiar.\n\nPrompted by curiosity to know the nature of the wounds thus inflicted,\nI placed upon the palm of my hand one of the wounded ants, and made, by\nmeans of a microscope, a careful examination of its injuries. Above\nand below the abdomen, between the second and third segments, two deep\nwounds, which met each other in the interior, were plainly to be seen.\n\nSeveral cases of the kind were afterwards noticed. These were not\naccidental occurrences, made through efforts to carry the young to\nplaces of shelter. Possibly, through inexperience, accidents might\nhappen once in a long time, but to suppose that insects, accustomed to\nhandling their young as the neuters assuredly are, would be likely to\nmake such blunders, is too unreasonable to be entertained. Admitting\nfor argument\u2019s sake that such things might occasionally occur, would\nsuccessive repetitions be expected? I apprehend not. But on the\nsupposition that a purpose was thereby subserved, the object had in\nview warrants, it would seem, the means employed for its accomplishment.\n\nWhat the purpose was it will now be my aim to show. That many animals,\ntame as well as wild, are wont to destroy disabled and wounded\ncompanions, is well established by history. In many instances the\ndestruction is justified to preserve the herd or pack from the close\npursuit of enemies. \u201cInstinct or reason,\u201d as Darwin says, \u201cmay suggest\nthe expelling an injured companion, lest beasts of prey, including man,\nshould be tempted to follow the troop.\u201d\n\nAudubon, in writing of the wild turkey, so abundant in his day,\nobserves substantially that the old males in their marches often\ndestroy the young by picking the head, but do not venture to disturb\nthe full-grown and vigorous. The feeble and immature being an\nencumbrance, it is obvious that the watchfulness and attention which\nthey would require, were sympathy and affection the emotions by which\nthe males are actuated, would necessarily retard progress, and lead to\nthe destruction of the entire flock. Instinct or reason here operates\nfor individual and family good.\n\nGranting that instinct or reason does sometimes act for individual and\nfamily preservation in the manner described, I am not willing to admit\nthat in every case that may arise in which the weak and disabled are\nsacrificed, that it is done for the material benefit of the physically\nable and robust. How the destruction of the weak and nearly-developed\nant can result in good to the colony, in view of the fact that not the\nslightest effort to escape the danger by flight is undertaken, the sole\nobject being the hiding of the young, it is most difficult to conceive.\n\nThere seems to be one of two theories, in the writer\u2019s judgment, that\nwill, in anything like a satisfactory manner, account for this strange,\nabnormal habit upon the part of an insect that has been proverbially\ndistinguished for its kind and affectionate disposition towards the\ntender beings committed to its trust; either to attribute it to an\nunwillingness and dislike to see its offspring made the servants of\na hostile race or the subjects of ill-treatment and abuse, or to the\nsurvival of a habit of the past when its ancestors were a migratory, or\nnomadic, species.\n\nThat a feeling of repugnance does sometimes take possession of animal\nnature when the objects of parental care and solicitude are, or are\nabout to be, reduced to slavery or confinement, and impels to actions\nof cruelty, will be patent from what follows:--\n\n  A friend, several summers ago, having procured a pair of young\n  robins, placed them in a cage, which he hung from a tree-branch close\n  to his dwelling, where the parent-birds could have an opportunity to\n  feed them. All went well for a few days, when the parents, who had\n  busied themselves in the intervals of feeding in attempts to secure\n  their release, finding their efforts unavailing, flew away, but\n  only to return with something green in their bills, most probably\n  poisonous caterpillars, which they fed to their offspring. A few\n  minutes later and they lay in the bottom of the cage dead, but the\n  parents, as if conscious of what would result, flew away, and never\n  came back.\n\nMay it not be that the parents, finding all efforts to restore their\nyoung to freedom ineffectual, sought this method of saving them from\na life to which death must assuredly be preferable? Instances of like\ncharacter might be adduced by the hundred, but enough has been written\nto show that, in the case of _Formica flava_, an unwillingness to allow\nthe humblest of the colony to be taken into bondage was the motive\nwhich prompted the sacrifice.\n\n\n\n\nNEST-BUILDING FISHES.\n\n\nNot alone in color do fishes resemble birds. In the home-life and love\nof offspring a close resemblance obtains. Many are nest-builders,\nerecting structures quite as complicated as those of some birds, and\nhardly less elaborate in design and finish.\n\nFloating along some woodland stream, or strolling along its\ngrass-fringed margin, we have watched the domestic life of the\nSun-fish, the _Eupomotis vulgaris_ of writers, that mottled, bespangled\nbeauty that seems always on hand to be caught by the angler in default\nof more noble game.\n\nWhere delicate grasses grow, and floating lily-pads cast their shadows,\nthere among the winding stems the Sun-fish builds its home. Moving\nin pairs in and out among the lilies near the shore, as if jointly\nselecting a site for a nursery, they may be seen. The spot is generally\na gravelly one, and, once determined upon, no time is lost in pushing\nthe work to a speedy conclusion. For several inches around the space\nis cleared of stems or roots, and these are carefully carried away.\nThe smaller roots are swept aside by well-directed blows of their\ntails, or by mimic whirlpools which the fishes, standing over the nest,\ncreate by their fins. The stones are next taken up, the smaller ones\nin their mouths, the larger being pushed out bodily, or fanned away by\nthe sweeping process, until an oval depression, with a sandy bottom,\nfinally appears. About the sides the stems of aquatic verdure, which\nseem to have been purposely left, may be seen standing, and these now\nnaturally fall over, oftentimes constituting the nest a perfect bower,\nwith walls bedecked with buds, while the roof is a mat of white lilies\nfloating upon the surface. Here the eggs are deposited, the male and\nfemale alternately watching them.\n\n[Illustration: NEST OF COMMON SUN-FISH.\n\nMale and Female Defending It from Attack of Cat-fish.]\n\nWhile the Sun-fish is always recognized as the most peaceful of the\nfinny tribe, and only chasing in wanton playfulness its neighbors,\nit is otherwise when the passions are wrought to a high pitch of\nexcitement through the play of amatory influences in the spring-time.\nLet a stranger, a bewhiskered cat-fish, approach the bower, and war\nis at once declared. The little creatures snap at the intruder with\nanger and defiance. Their sharp dorsal fins stand erect, the pectorals\nvibrate with repressed emotion, while the violent movements of their\npowerful tails evince a readiness and determination to stand by their\nhome at all hazards. Indeed, so vigorous is their charge, that even\nlarge fishes are forced to retreat, and, as the Sun-fishes build in\ncompanies, the intruder often finds himself attacked by a whole colony\nof them.\n\nNearly all the Sun-fishes are nest-builders, some forming arbors, as we\nhave seen, others scooping out nests on sandy shoals, while one, the\nSpotted Sun-fish, is more democratic, affecting muddy streams, where,\non the approach of cold weather, it makes a nest in the muddy bottom,\nand there it lies dormant till the coming spring.\n\nWho has not made friends with the Dace--_Rhinichthys atronasus_? He is\na veritable finny jester. We have watched him in his watery retreat,\nand, perhaps unseen, have played the spy upon his domestic proceedings.\n\nLife is a gala time to these little fishes. They have seemingly never a\ncare or a bother. In jest they join in the chase of some curious minnow\nthat intrudes upon their presence, suddenly changing their course to\ndash at some resplendent dragon-fly that hovers over the leafy canopy\nof their home, and as quickly darting off again to attack some bit of\nfloating leaf or imaginary insect.\n\nAll is not play, however, even among the Dace. The warm days of June\nusher in the sterner duties, the nesting-time. Male and female join\nin the preparation, and a locality, perhaps in shallow water in some\nrunning brook, is selected. Roots, snags and leaves are carried away,\nboth fishes sometimes found tugging away at a single piece, taking it\ndown-stream, and working faithfully and vigorously until, in a few\nhours, a clearing over two feet in diameter is the result.\n\nThere the first eggs are laid. The male, who has retired, soon appears\nfrom up-stream, bearing in his mouth a pebble, which is placed in the\ncentre of the clearing. Now they both swim away, but soon returning,\neach bearing a pebble, that is also dropped upon the eggs. Slowly the\nwork proceeds, until a layer of clean pebbles apparently covers the\neggs. A second layer of eggs is now deposited by the female, and these\nare covered by pebbles as the others had been, the industrious little\nworkers scouring the neighborhood for them, seemingly piling up eggs\nand stones alternately until the heap attains a height of eight inches\nor more. These heaps vary in shape, some being pyramidal, and others\ndome-shaped.\n\nSuch patience as these finny housekeepers manifest is not appreciated\nby man. The gleaners of the golden fields, in whose waters our little\nfriends are found, have not discovered their secret, and think the\ncurious piles the washes of the brook itself. But their purpose is\nthe protection of their eggs. In swift-running streams, which these\nfish are so wont to affect, the eggs would be washed away, and,\ndriven against rocks and snags, would be destroyed, or, even escaping\ndestruction, would, by the undulating movement to which they would\nbecome subjected, be rendered impossible of incubation. Besides, were\nthey not thus protected, even though there was no danger of being\nwashed away, they would become easy prey to the attacks of carnivorous\nfishes.\n\nUnlike as the Lamprey-eels are in structure to the Dace, yet in their\nhabits of erecting a nest they are very similar. Upon our Eastern\nsea-board they are a common species, inhabiting both salt and fresh\nwater. In the early spring they follow the shad up the rivers,\noccasionally preceding them, and search about for suitable localities\nin which to deposit their spawn. They clean away the stones as the\nDace were seen to do, bending their long bodies in coils, which they\nuse in pushing aside the accumulation on the bottom. To the unlearned\nthe appearance of two Eels, each three feet in length, twisting and\nseemingly coiling about each other, would be indicative of war. But\nhaving cleaned for themselves a smooth spot, the Lampreys proceed\nto place stones. Irregularly-shaped stones of small size are easily\nand quickly transported in their mouths, but when stones that weigh\nseveral pounds are to be brought, the tactics they adopt are worthy of\nan engineer. As the spots chosen for the rearing of their submarine\ncastles are ordinarily subjected to a swift current, the largest\nstones, which it would be thought impossible for them to move, are\nlooked for up stream. A suitable one found, and a favorable position\npresented, the sucking mouth is fastened to it, and by a convulsive\neffort, the tail of the fish being raised aloft, the heavy stone is\nlifted from its place, the current pushing against the fish and stone,\nbearing them along several feet before they sink. Another effort of\nthe fish, and the rock is again raised and carried down stream, until\nfinally, by repeated liftings and struggles, the ingenious, persevering\nnest-builder is swept down to the nest, where the load is deposited.\nThis laborious work is carried on until the pile has attained a height\nof two or three feet, and a diameter of four. No special form seems\nto be necessary. The nest is generally oval, compact and well devised\nto contain the eggs, which are carefully deposited within, thus\naffording protection in its numerous interstices for the young when\nthey hatch. When about six inches long, the young _Petromyzon marinus_,\nwhich is a strange little fellow, is devoid of teeth, and blind, and\npossesses so many characteristics distinct from the parent, that for\na long time he was considered a separate species, and even assigned a\nplace in a different genus. Enormous nests are sometimes built. John\nM. Batchelder, Esq., describes one, which he saw in the Saco River,\nMaine, that was about fifteen feet long, and from one to three feet in\nheight, its position and triangular shape in vertical section being\nwell adapted for securing a change of water, and a hiding-place for the\nyoung. The operation of building was very methodical, a hundred and\nmore Eels being at work upon the structure. Water-worn stones, chips\nof granites and fragments of bricks, sometimes weighing as much as two\npounds and transported by a single individual, were utilized in the\nbuilding.\n\n[Illustration: BLACK-NOSED DACE.\n\nConstructing Their Nest of Pebbles.]\n\nMore remarkable, however, than any previously described, are the nests\nof the Fresh-water Chub, _Semotilus bullaris_, which is known in some\nlocalities as the Stone Toter. This fish attains a length of about\nfifteen inches. The finest nests are on the shores of Westminster\nIsland, but they are common on nearly every island that has a sandy,\ngravelly shore among the many that make up the Thousand Islands. The\nnest is a pile of stones, sometimes measuring ten feet across at the\nbase, four feet in height, and containing a good-sized cart-load of\nstones, weighing in all perhaps a ton. Stones from small pebbles\nto some four inches in length were used, and as some of the nests\nare placed at considerable distances from the gravel-beds, and each\nstone represented a journey, the amount of labor performed, when it\nis considered that tens of thousands of stones must have been used\nin the building, certainly was incredible. Each stone is brought in\nthe mouth of the Chub and dropped over the piles, one or more fishes\nworking at the same heap. Some plan is evidently followed in the work,\nthe first deposit of stones being small, and dropped so as to form a\ncircle or semi-circle. The largest heaps are undoubtedly the work of\nsuccessive years, the nests being annually added to during the last\nof May or June, when the Chubs are seen lying in the heaps, at which\ntime the eggs are probably deposited. All the labor of piling up is to\nprotect them from predatory fishes, a necessary and wise provision, as\ncat-fish, rock-bass, perch and others prey upon the eggs.\n\nIn gravelly beds the Trout excavates a simple nest, a mere depression\nin the sand, that is not at all incomparable to the nest of some\nspecies of gulls. A furrow in the gravelly bottom of a river, often ten\nfeet in length, the depression being made as fast as it is required, is\nthe nest of the Salmon. In Canadian rivers these nests can be easily\ndistinguished by the lighter marking in the bottom.\n\nFew persons of the many who delight to drift along our sea-shores are\nunfamiliar with the Toad-fish. So closely does he in shape and color\nresemble a moss-covered stone that his enemies are deceived. Intrenched\namong the weeds and gravel, which the mother-fish carelessly throws\naside, after the fashion of some of the gulls, the young are reared,\ntheir yolk-sacs enabling them to cling to the rocks of the nest soon\nafter birth. There, under the watchful eye of the parent, they remain\nuntil old enough to swim away.\n\nBut the most vigilant of all nest-builders is the Four-spined\nStickleback--_Apeltes quadracus_. In some neighboring stream, that\nsooner or later finds its way to the ocean, he may be found. There\nare different species of these fish, but their architectural ideas\nare pretty much the same. They vary mainly in the locations they\nselect for nesting. Some place the nests upon the bottom, concealed\namong the sea-weed found there, while others hang theirs from some\nprojecting ledge, or swing it in the tide from the sunken bough of\nsome overhanging tree. As is unusual, the work of nidification is\nsolely performed by the male Stickleback, the female taking no part in\nthe labor. The spawning season having arrived, he, assuming a bright\nnuptial lustre, shows remarkable activity in selecting a site for an\nedifice, and transporting the building material thither. Fragments of\nall kinds of plants, gathered often at a distance, are brought home in\nhis mouth. These are arranged as a sort of a carpet, but as there is\ndanger of the light materials being carried away by the current, they\nare weighted down by sand to keep them in their places. Having entwined\nthem with his mouth to his complete satisfaction, he then glides gently\nover them on his belly, and glues them with the mucus that exudes from\nhis pores. More solid materials, sometimes bits of wood, sometimes bits\nof straw, which he seizes with his mouth, are adjusted to the sides of\nthe floor to constitute the walls. He is now very particular. If the\npiece cannot be properly adjusted to his building, and he does not lose\npatience in his efforts to fit it in, he carries it to some distance\nfrom the nest and leaves it. After the side walls are erected, a roof\nof the same materials with the floor is laid over the chamber. Firmness\nis given to the whole structure by passing over it with his body, the\nlight and useless particles being fanned away by the action of his fins\nand the vibratory movements of his tail. In carrying on his building\noperations care is taken to preserve a circular opening into the\nchamber, his head and a great part of his body being thrust therein,\nthus widening and consolidating it, and rendering it a fit receptacle\nfor the female. When choosing material, the fish has been seen testing\nits specific gravity by letting it sink once or twice in the water, and\nif the descent was not rapid enough finally abandoning it.\n\nOf the exact method used by the fish in binding the nest together we\nare indebted to Prof. Ryder. The male fish spins from a pore or pores\na compound thread, using his body to insinuate himself through the\ninterstices through which he carries the thread. The thread is spun\nfitfully, not continuously. He will go round and round the nest perhaps\na dozen times, when he will rest awhile and begin anew. Its shape is\nsomewhat conical before completion. The thread is wound round and\nround the nest in a horizontal direction, and when freshly spun is\nfound to consist of six or eight very thin transparent fibres, which\nhave alternated tapering ends where they are broken off. Very soon\nafter the thread is spun, particles of dirt adhere to it, and render it\ndifficult to interpret its character. The nest measures one-half of an\ninch in height, and three-eighths in diameter.\n\nThe time occupied in collecting materials and constructing the nest\nis about four hours, and when all is ready the male starts out to\nseek a female, and, having found her, conducts her with many polite\nattentions to the prepared home. The eggs being deposited, the male\nestablishes himself as a guardian of the precious treasures, not even\nsuffering the female to approach it again. Every fish that comes near,\nno matter how large, is furiously assailed. He gives battle valiantly,\nstriking at their eyes and seizing their fins in his mouth. His sharp\ndorsal and ventral spines are very effective weapons in his defence.\nConstant watchfulness upon the part of the male is needed, for, if he\ngo away for only a few moments, the sticklebacks and other fish lurking\nin the vicinity rush in and devour the eggs in an instant. A whole\nmonth he is occupied in providing for the safety of his offspring.\nAbout the tenth day he employs himself in tearing down the nest and\ncarrying the material to some little distance. The fry may now be\nobserved in motion. And these the male continually nurses, suffering no\nencroachment, and if the young brood show a tendency to stray beyond\nbounds, they are driven back within their precincts, until they are\nstrong enough to provide for their own living, when both old and young\ndisappear together.\n\nBut nothing in the lives of all these little nest-builders is more\ninteresting than the intelligence they display and the facility with\nwhich they adapt themselves to circumstances. They seem to be able to\ngrasp almost instantly the conditions of the environment, and to employ\na wise discrimination in suiting them to their wants. Hardly two nests\nare alike. Marked differences in details of structure, configuration\nand surroundings are apparent, which prove that these creatures are\ncontrolled by reason, rather than instinct, in the elaboration of their\nhomes. That they have some means of communicating their desires to\neach other cannot be doubted. When the male has laid hold of a stem, a\npebble or a stick that completely baffles all effort at removal, his\nmate seems summoned to his assistance, and the united strength of the\npair accomplishes the object to be gained. There is ever noticeable\nin whatever the sexes undertake some concert of action which would\nput to shame the boasted intelligence of man himself. The Sun-fishes,\nas has been said, nest in companies. When the combined effort of two\nindividuals is unable to expel an invader, the entire community, as by\na single mighty impulse, rises up against the foe. There is evidence\nof some form of society, even though simple in its organization, where\nindividual members league themselves together for mutual protection\nand defence. Other examples might be cited to give the reader a\ncommon-sense estimate of the comparatively high order of intelligence\nthat characterizes the actions of many of our fishes.\n\n\n\n\nSLIPPERY AS AN EEL.\n\n\nEels are found in almost all warm and temperate countries, and grow\nto a very great size in tropical regions. They are impatient of cold,\nand hence do not exist in the extreme northern and southern parts\nof the world. In many islands of the Pacific Ocean they are held in\nconsiderable estimation, being preserved in ponds and fed by hand, but\nin many civilized communities a strong prejudice prevails against them,\nprobably from their similarity to snakes, which prevents even a hungry\nman from caring to eat such wholesome and nutritious food.\n\nNot one of our river fishes is so mysterious as the Eel, and although\nmuch is now known that was involved in obscurity, yet there is still\nmuch to learn of its habits, especially the manner of its reproduction.\nDifference of locality, it is likely, may influence the Eel and cause a\ndifference of habit, an opinion which seems warranted from the various\nand perplexing accounts that have been given of its customs by numerous\npractical observers.\n\nDuring the hot, still and sunny days of June they are chiefly seen on\ntop of the water, wherever masses of aquatic weeds may be found, either\nin the calm enjoyment of a sun-bath, or for the purpose of feeding upon\nthe myriads of gnats, moths and flies that seek the plants for rest or\nfood, and which by unavoidably damping their wings become easy prey\nto their ambushed enemies. At night, similar retreats are affected\nfor like purposes. Floating masses of detached weeds that the eddying\nstream has wound and kept in one place are sought in warm, stilly\nweather, but in blowing, cooler or rainy weather they forsake such\nplaces for the still, deep ditches. If a flush of water comes, and a\nlittle, shallow stream, running from or into the main river, becomes\nfuller than usual, there they resort in vast numbers, evidently pleased\nwith the delicious change, only to remain as long as its freshness\ncontinues.\n\nLike many other fishes, Eels are very tenacious of life, and can live a\nlong time when removed from the water, owing to a simple and beautiful\nmodification of structure, which permits them to retain a sufficient\namount of moisture to keep the gills damp and in a condition to perform\ntheir natural functions. They have been seen crawling over considerable\ndistances, somewhat snake-like in their movements, evidently either in\npursuit of water, their own dwelling-place being nearly dried, or in\nsearch of some running stream in whose waters they may reach the sea\nafter the customary manner of their race. Multitudes of Eels, both old\nand young, some of the latter scarcely six inches in length, have been\nseen crawling up the banks of a creek, apparently without any purpose,\nand over the smooth surface of a projecting rock, with all the ease\nof a fly moving over a ceiling. So active were the little ones as to\ndefy, unless the hand was moved with extreme rapidity, their capture.\nVast numbers of these little Eels are in the habit of proceeding up the\nrivers in the spring-time. In some places in England they are called\nElvers. They are caught in immense quantities, and scalded and pressed\ninto masses termed Eel- or Elver-cake. When dressed these little Eels\nafford a luxurious repast. Towards the latter part of summer these\nfishes migrate towards the sea, being capable of living in fresh or\nsalt water with equal ease, the mouths of rivers constituting favorite\nlocalities. Even in our seaport towns and marine watering-places the\ncommon river Eel is caught by those who are angling in the sea for fish.\n\nVarious modes of capturing Eels are adopted by man. Bobbing, or\nclodding as it is sometimes called, is a very common and successful\nmethod, consisting in bunching a number of earthworms upon a worsted\nstring, and lowering it near the place where the fishes are supposed\nto be feeding. So eagerly do the voracious fish seize the bait, and so\nfiercely do they bite, that they are pulled out of the water before\nthey have time to collect their thoughts and disengage their teeth from\nthe string. Night-lines, which are laid in the evening and taken up in\nthe morning, are another plan. But the most successful method is by\nspearing. The spear used for the purpose is not unlike the conventional\ntrident of Neptune, except that the prongs are four in number,\nflattened, slightly barbed on each edge, and spread rather widely from\ntheir junction with the shaft. This is pushed at random into the muddy\nbanks where the Eels love to lie, and when one is caught, its long\nsnake-like body is wedged in between the jagged prongs and lifted into\nthe boat before it is able to extricate itself. Almost any kind of food\nthat it can master, whether aquatic or terrestrial, is eaten to satisfy\nthe creature\u2019s most voracious appetite. Even mice and rats fall victims\nto its hunger, and an Eel is recorded to have been found floating dead\non the water, having been choked to death by a rat which it had essayed\nto swallow, but which proved too large a morsel for its throat.\n\nSo remarkable is the tenacity of life which this fish possesses,\nthat after the creature has been cut up into lengths, each separate\npiece will move as if alive, and at the touch of a pin\u2019s point will\ncurve itself as though it felt the injury. When all irritability has\nceased, the portions will flounce vigorously about if placed in boiling\nwater, and even after its influence has ceased will, upon the addition\nof salt, jump about as vigorously as before. There can be no real\nsensation, let it be understood, as the spinal cord has been severed\nand all connection with the brain, which is the seat of sensation, has\nbeen cut off.\n\nHow the Eel reproduces its kind has long been a subject of discussion.\nSome held that the young is produced in a living condition, and others\nthat it is hatched from the egg. The matter has, however, been set at\nrest by the microscope, which shows that the oily-looking substance,\ngenerally called fat, which is found in the abdomen of the Eel, is\nreally an aggregation of eggs, and that these objects, minute as they\nare, and which are not so large as the point of a pin, are quite as\nperfect in their structure as the eggs of a moth or a bird are seen to\nbe to the naked, unaided vision.\n\n_Anguilla rostrata_, as the Common American Eel is technically known,\nis abundant in the United States, living in fresh-water streams, but\ndepositing its eggs, often eight millions to a single fish, in the\nocean, the young ascending the rivers. Eels are devoid of ventral\nfins. Their scales, which are very minute, are covered with a thick,\nslime-like material. Under the microscope each scale is beautifully\nornamented, and the exquisite pattern formed by the scales on the skin\nmay be readily and effectively seen if a bit of it, when fresh, be\nplaced on the window-glass and allowed to dry. The sexes are difficult\nto distinguish; the females have the highest dorsal fin, smaller eyes,\nand a lighter color than the males, while the snout is generally\nbroader at the tip.\n\nWhen contiguous to the sea, as in a pond near Wells, on the coast of\nMaine, the Eels invariably go down into salt water at night. As the\nconnecting stream is narrow, the sight is remarkable, thousands filling\nthe channel, many of whom, when alarmed, leaving the water and passing\nover the dry rocks to the ocean. Eels are not the silent creatures\nwhich many persons suppose them to be. They frequently utter a sound,\nexpressed by a single note, which is more distinctly musical than the\nsounds made by other fishes, and which has a clear metallic resonance.\nThey are of slow growth, scarcely reaching the length of twelve inches\nduring the first year, but subsequently attaining to large dimensions,\nthe preserved skins of two Eels, which Mr. Yarrall saw at Cambridge,\nEngland, weighing together fifty pounds, the heavier being twenty-seven\npounds in weight.\n\n[Illustration: COMMON AMERICAN EEL.\n\nHow It Seeks New Feeding-Grounds.]\n\nFish, as a rule, do not live more than a few minutes out of the water.\nAn Eel, however, will remain alive for many hours, and even days, in\natmospheric air, provided it is laid in a damp place. Now, if one\nbe carefully watched when placed upon dry land, it will be observed\nto pout out the cheeks on both sides of its face. Underneath this\npuffed-out skin will be found the gills, and the skin which covers them\nwill be seen to be so arranged as to form a closed sac, which the Eel\nfills with water, and so keeps the gill-fibres moist. This wonderful\ncontrivance enables the Eel to come out of the water, and to travel, so\nto speak, by land. Thus Eels are often found in outlying ponds of human\nconstruction, where they were never placed by the hand of man. Finding\nold quarters uncomfortable, they take in a good supply of water, and\nexchange them for the better, not by repeated leaps towards the water,\nas some fish are known to do, but by a smooth, uniform snake-like\nprogression.\n\nThat some fishes should leave the water and travel overland is,\nperhaps, not more remarkable than that some birds, the ouzel for\nexample, should leave their natural element and fly into and under\nthe water. Whoever knows the hidden paths of the marsh has doubtless\nwatched the brown-hued Eels wriggling their way through the grass\nfrom one pool to another, especially at night, leaving their home and\nwandering about, seemingly unconscious whither their pilgrimage will\nend.\n\n\u201cSlippery as an Eel\u201d is proverbial. Many a person has, by his slick,\ncunning ways, succeeded in eluding the law and escaping justice,\naffording an apt illustration of the character of the animal about\nwhich we have been talking, but the slipperiness of the Eel is not\ngiven to it that it may take some unlawful advantage of its neighbors,\nbut that it may the more readily slip from the grasp of a more powerful\nenemy, or the more easily make its way into the muddy depths of the\npond or stream which it so very much affects. So it will be seen that\nwhile this slippery character in the one is protective, in the economy\nof nature, for a wise and laudable purpose, yet in the other it but\nsecures to the possessor the getting of an ignoble gain and the ruin of\na once proud name.\n\nWhile these agile denizens of aquatic life are selfish and voracious\nalmost beyond precedent, and apparently more concerned in feeding than\nin anything else, there are certainly some traits in their character\nwhich are redeeming features. Low as they are in the scale of piscine\nexistences, occupying the very lowest family of the Anguillidine\nApodes, they are none the less susceptible to the human influence of\nkindness. They grow accustomed to man when good is at the basis of\nhis actions, and have been known to accept food from his hand. They\nremember the face of a friend, and when it is presented at the door of\nglass, so to speak, that opens the way to their home, they come without\nfear or suspicion showing itself in their movements. Even the sound\nof the voice of a benefactor awakens a sympathetic response in their\nbosoms.\n\n\n\n\nRANA AND BUFO.\n\n\nBelonging to the lower vertebrates is a family of animals called\nscientifically Ranid\u00e6, but which are, popularly speaking, best known as\nfrogs. They are queer-looking creatures, scarcely met with in Australia\nand South America, but reaching their highest state in the East Indies.\nThey are capable of enduring great changes of heat and cold, and can\nlive on land as well as in water, provided they have the amount of\nmoisture necessary to preserve the suppleness of their skins. Salt\nwater is fatal to the frog in any stage of its existence.\n\n_Rana clamata_, the lusty croaker of the summer pond, is our most\nfamiliar species. He may be recognized by the colors of his dress,\nin which green, bronze, gold and silver play important parts, and by\nthe ear-splitting character of his vocal intonations. The glandular\nridges down the skin of his back, together with his strange coloration,\nsingularly fit him for his home. Imitations of the stems of plants\nare seen in the darker ridges, and their leafage in the green color\nof his coat. The silver of his vest has the glimmer of the water in\nwhich he bathes, and the moist earth seems to have left its stain upon\nhis brownish feet and markings, while the yellow of the several badges\nthat adorn his person in being like the stamens and pistils of the\nsurrounding flowers, and of the hue of many buds and blossoms, adds\nlargely to his protective display. Thus is the frog in his natural\nhaunts protected by his garments, and, unless he stirs or is betrayed\nby his full, bright eyes or the palpitation of his breast, he is not\nlikely to be observed.\n\nFour fingers or toes are found upon the anterior extremities, while\nthose of the posterior are five in number and webbed. The front legs\nare much shorter, smaller and weaker than the hind ones, which are\nlargely developed, and thus serviceable in swimming and leaping.\n\nThough the frog is possessed of a back-bone, yet he has no ribs.\nBeing ribless, he cannot expand and contract his chest in breathing,\nbut must swallow what air he requires. In swallowing the air he must\nclose the mouth and take the air in only by the nostrils; therefore,\noddly enough, if his mouth is forcibly kept open, he will smother. The\nfrog\u2019s breathing, a fact not generally known, is partly through his\nskin, which gives off carbonic acid gas; and moisture, therefore, is\njust as essential to his skin as it is to the gills of a fish. Damp,\nrainy weather is his extreme delight. When the rain falls, out come\nthe frogs. Their skin absorbs moisture, which is stored up in internal\nreservoirs, and some of this water, when these timid creatures are\nalarmed by being suddenly seized, is ejected, but I do not think that\nit is purposely so done, as the water is not, as some people have\nfancied, of a poisonous nature. Frogs have no poison-sacs, and in truth\nno weapons of any kind.\n\nOpen a frog\u2019s mouth, and you will find but a few tiny teeth in the\nupper jaw and palate, which are useful for the partial grinding up of\nhorny insects. His tongue you will discover to be a very odd affair,\nwhich is fastened at the front end of the mouth, the hinder part being\nfree and hanging down the creature\u2019s throat. This organ is covered with\na glue-like secretion. When an insect is to be captured, it is snapped\nforward from the mouth, and, striking the insect, which it seldom fails\nto do, causes it to adhere as to bird-lime.\n\nA few thoughts now about the life-history of the frog. From egg to egg\nis the story. In roundish masses, upon sticks lying in water, or upon\nthe leaves and stems of submerged water-plants, are the eggs deposited.\nThe creature that comes from the egg is no more like a frog than a\ncaterpillar is like a butterfly. It has a large head, small tail,\nbranched gills, and is devoid of limbs, resembling, in this stage, more\na fish than a frog. This is its early childhood, or tadpole state. It\ncan only live in water now, and swims and feeds from the very moment it\nleaves the egg. Change in form almost immediately begins, the branched\ngills being drawn within the neck and hidden, a pair of fore-legs\nbeginning to bud, and subsequently a pair of hind-legs, which push out\nmuch faster than the fore-legs. As the legs grow, the tail is gradually\nabsorbed and disappears. The interior of the body meanwhile changes,\nthe lungs and heart becoming reptilian. When the gills and tail are\ngone, and the legs are fully formed, the once-swimming tadpole hops out\nof the water a perfectly-formed frog.\n\nWhen first the tadpole emerged from the egg, it ate the jelly-like\ncover. Then soft animal and vegetable matters, with the strengthening\nof its pair of horny jaws, began to be devoured. Insects later on, and\neven its own kith and kin, became its food. The fare of the adult frog\nis almost exclusively insect in character, although necessity sometimes\ndrives him to make a meal out of some of his weaker brethren.\n\nSeated in cool, leafy shadows, not far from his favorite stream or\npool, the frog watches with his great, black, gold-ringed eyes for such\ninsects as good fortune shall bring to his retreat. As one hovers near,\nout flies his limber, sticky, ribbon-like tongue, true to its mark, and\nthe hapless insect, adhering to the viscid projected ribbon, is gently\nand cleverly deposited in the open throat, the frog maintaining all the\nwhile an air of calm, superior self-satisfaction, as if he had not so\nmuch satisfied an appetite as fulfilled the mission of ridding nature\nof a superfluous insect.\n\nA most harmless, timid and interesting animal is the frog, and often\nmost unfortunate. He is the legitimate mark for all the missiles that\ncan be thrown at him by urchins wandering about his native pool.\nSnakes make him their prey, and he is always in mental fear lest some\ninsidious serpent shall take him unawares, or his musings shall be\nsuddenly cut short by the stately progress of some swan or goose,\nsailing over the limpid water, or searching the green herbage wherein\nhe sits concealed.\n\n[Illustration: RANA CLAMATA, OR GREEN FROG.\n\nLusty Croaker of the Summer Pond.]\n\nThat he is susceptible of being trained, there can be no question. Man\nis not always viewed by him as an inveterate enemy, nor does he always\ndive headlong into the pool when his presence is near. He has been\nknown to cultivate man\u2019s acquaintance, and to live on friendly terms\nwith him. Some three years ago a tiny frog was taken from a swamp by a\nfriend and placed in a small stream of spring water that passed close\nto the house where the writer was summering. A dozen times a day the\nlittle frog was dipped up by the hand from the bottom of the stream,\nand forced to endure down the head and back the tenderest caresses. A\nfew insects were then offered as food in conciliation for the liberty\ntaken, which the little frog was only induced to accept after a great\ndeal of persuasion, when he was carefully put back into his watery\nbath. In the space of a week, the frog had become so attached to his\nfriend, that he would leap into his outstretched hand and take his food\nwithout the least distrust or fear. Even the voice of the master was\nrecognized by the frog, and, when heard in the distance, was the signal\nfor the strangest behavior. Froggie would leap out of the water upon\na bare stretch of earth, peer off in the direction whence the sound\ncame, and there await his master\u2019s arrival with restless anxiety. The\nstrongest bond of friendship seemed to unite the two. Not only was the\nfrog able to recognize the voice of his friend, but he knew him in\nperson as well. Repeated efforts were made by the writer to gain the\nattention and good-will of the frog, but all his advances were received\nwith the utmost indifference.\n\nWhile the species which I have just described represents the aquatic\nRanid\u00e6, the Wood-frog, its near kin, represents a branch of the family\nwhich prefers dry situations, except in breeding times, when the eggs\nmust be deposited in water. The Wood-frog is somewhat smaller than\nthe Bull-frog, and is clad in olive-green and brown colors, which are\nin perfect keeping with the coloration of dead leaves and dry twigs.\nThere is a large black patch on the side of the head around the big\near-drum, which seems still further to distinguish him from his cousin.\nHe is a very shy and suspicious creature, and makes a prodigious jump\nat the first intimation of danger, his leaps being so enormous that it\nis very difficult to capture him. When upon the ground, he can hardly\nbe discerned from the dry vegetation around. By hiding in damp moss or\nin decayed logs, and in little hollows in the ground, he is enabled to\nmaintain the moisture of his skin. He avoids the sunshine, and keeps\nclose to the earth.\n\nAnother curious Rana is the Tree-frog. He is smaller than any of his\ncousins, and may be known by his bright green dress, which is spotted\nwith black, and by a membrane stretched between his toes, which gives\nhim a broad, flat surface, while it helps to sustain him as he leaps,\nsomewhat after the fashion of a flying squirrel, from branch to branch.\nIn tropical regions, where many of the trees are bedecked with gorgeous\nblossoms, Tree-frogs appear in the gayest of colors, the splendor of\ntheir garb being protective in such surroundings.\n\nDressed in black and light brown, and living in marshes in the\nEastern United States, is another species--the Swamp-frog. His voice\nis a prolonged croak, which, to the practised ear, can be readily\ndistinguished from the bawl of Clamata, or the roar of the Bull-frog.\n\nCats, geese, hawks, vultures, owls and other animals eat frogs, and the\nluckless creatures can scarcely appear without finding an enemy. But\nnature, who is a very wise and considerate mother, provides a means for\nbalancing this great destruction of their forces in endowing them with\nwonderful reproductive organs. So prolific are frogs, that when the\nlittle black tadpoles appear, so thickly are they huddled together that\nthe pond seems literally alive with their swimming forms.\n\nIn the same class of animals to which the frogs belong, as well as to\nthe same order, but to a different sub-order, are placed the toads,\nsomewhat remote cousins of the frogs. As the frog is well-known about\nour ponds, so the toad is a constant denizen of our groves and gardens.\nThe frog, you have been told, is a species of Rana, and now I shall\nintroduce to you the toad as a species of Bufo. In general anatomy they\nare alike. Their eggs and young are closely similar, and the stages\nof growth from egg to adult form are nearly identical. When the adult\nstage is attained the frogs and toads are very tiny creatures, but,\nsmall as they are, they are readily distinguishable from each other by\nthe conformation of the snout, and by the larger development of the\nhind-legs of the frog. Their chief differences will now be enumerated.\nThe toad has no teeth, but the frog, as has been stated before, has\nteeth in both the upper jaw and the palate. Similarly attached is the\ntongue, but the free end of the frog\u2019s tongue is forked, and the toad\u2019s\nentire. The skin of the toad is usually warty, while the frog\u2019s is\nsmooth. A rounder body, shorter hind-legs, less fully webbed feet and\nmore rounded snout still further distinguish the toad from the frog.\nTheir soft moist skin shows them to be Amphibians. The absence of tails\nplaces them among the Anuran, or Tailless Amphibians. Thus far they\nagree well together, but differences loom up upon careful examination,\nand we are compelled to say of the frog that he belongs to the Ranid\u00e6,\nand of the toad that he belongs to the Bufonid\u00e6. Of the two animals,\nthe toad is by far the more interesting and useful.\n\nThe toad is almost unrestricted in his territorial range. He hops\nthrough the tropics and the temperate zones, and well up into the\npolar regions. Everywhere he is the same inoffensive, gentle, humble,\nuseful and generally silent creature. But like his human brother he\nhas his faults. He has a great fondness for bees. Happy is he when,\nbrigand-like, he can stand by the highway of the bees and capture them\nas they return to their waxen city. Their wealth of honey he does not\ndemand as a ransom, but swallows the little creatures themselves, alive\nand whole, and digests them at leisure. Bee-eating seems his only\nfault. Not only the hive-bee, but other insects as well, share his\nattention. Millions of noxious beetles and bugs are devoured, and the\nworld is the richer by thousands of bushels of fruit and vegetables.\nThe good he accomplishes largely outweighs the mischief he commits.\nSo ceaselessly and swiftly he swallows his game, that a grasshopper\u2019s\nlegs or a sphinx\u2019s antenn\u00e6 may often be seen sticking out of his mouth,\nwhile the carcass itself is well down in his throat. French gardeners\nso appreciate his utility that he is brought to market and sold for a\npittance to such as may need his services.\n\n[Illustration: COMMON AMERICAN TOAD.\n\nHow He Manages a Difficulty.]\n\nToads can be tamed and taught to eat from the hand. They are easily\nbeguiled with sugar and with bread that has been soaked in milk, but,\nlike a captious child, they eat only the middle out of the slice, and\nleave the crust. We once saw a toad, a noble fellow he was, who, at a\ncertain hour of the closing day, would come from his gloomy retreat\nto receive at the hands of man his supper of flies, which he had been\ntrained to catch on the throw. So unerringly would his tongue dart out\nat the opportune moment, that he seldom, if ever, shot wide of his\nmark. It is amusing to observe him when, in his greed and haste, he has\nattempted to swallow a huge grasshopper whose legs will not accommodate\nthemselves to his peculiar gape of mouth. How he swallows and twists\nand contracts the walls of his throat, but the legs seem unmanageable.\nHe does not give up, or endeavor to eject the half-swallowed body,\nbut ponders the matter over and over. A look of delight beams out of\nhis eyes, that shows he has managed the problem. Up goes to the mouth\nthe right fore-leg, and, in less time than it takes to chronicle the\nevent, the obstreperous insect is pushed into the stomach.\n\nSome curious myths are told of the toad. One says he can live for\nhundreds of years encased in clay or in stone. No more true of Bufo\nis this than of Rana, his cousin. Another asserts that his skin,\nwhen handled, is productive of warts, and that the fluid he emits,\nwhich serves but to moisten his body, for without moisture he could\ncertainly not live, and to protect him from enemies, is poisonous in\ncharacter. His power to produce warts, we cannot admit. But that the\nfluid he exudes, if not poisonous to touch, is offensive to animals,\nthere can be no doubt. We are led to this conclusion from the following\nconsiderations: Dogs, young animals especially, are prone to attack\nthe toad, but they never want to repeat their experience. The toad\u2019s\nexudation so affects the salivary glands of the dog as to cause him to\nfroth and foam like an animal with rabies. A case is recalled where\na dog, that had taken a toad in his mouth, became almost frantic.\nThis dog never afterwards was well. His whole system apparently\nhad become diseased, and, in less than a year, he had wasted to a\ncomplete skeleton, when death relieved him of his sufferings. Another\nallegation, that the toad has a jewel in his head, has been believed\nfrom very ancient times. The story doubtlessly originated from the\nbeauty of the toad\u2019s eyes, the irides being a rich flame-color, which,\nin the dusk of the even, shine like burnished gems.\n\nWhen hatched the young of the toad are of a jet black color, and are\nvery active. Their changes are made very early and in the same manner\nas those of the frog. They are quite small when arrived at the perfect\ntoad state. Their legs produced and their tails absorbed, they quit\nthe water and set out on long journeys. Unlike the frog, which is a\nhome-stayer, the toad is a born vagrant. They travel chiefly by night,\nhiding under stones and herbage during the day. If clouds cover the\nsky, they take heart and joyously hop forth upon their pilgrimage.\nDuring a long drouth they mysteriously disappear, but if a rain comes\non they suddenly come out by hundreds, and this has given rise to the\ntale of a \u201cshower of toads.\u201d\n\nWorms, as well as flies, etc., constitute a toad\u2019s bill of fare. After\na rain toads and worms, it would seem, are mutually inspired to take\ntheir walks abroad, and many an unfortunate worm makes its way into\nthe toad\u2019s maw. Dead insects are at a discount with him, and he views\nwith suspicion anything that shows not the active wriggling principle\nof life. When winter comes on the toad, like the frog, goes into\nwinter-quarters. Since the young toad reaches its adult size in the\nautumn, it is forced to pass the first period of its grown-up life in a\nsleep, or coma, in some hole or burrow which it has found or fashioned\nin the earth. Sometimes toads creep into rock-crevices, or into hollows\nin logs and trees, and being found in these places in the early spring\nare hastily supposed to have been prisoners for many years.\n\nIn the process of growth the skin of the toad, as well as that of the\nfrog, becomes too small, and hence is cast off. As the shedding-time\napproaches, the white, green and brown colors become dull, and a\npeculiar dryness appears. A new skin is now forming under the outgrown\none, and presently the latter splits half down the middle of the back\nand along the under part of the body. By a series of violent twitchings\nof the toad the old skin is made to wrinkle and fold along the sides. A\nhind-leg is now tucked under a fore-arm, and by a good pull the animal\nis soon out of that leg of his trousers. The other leg is removed in\nsimilar fashion. Putting one hand in his mouth and giving a jerk, off\ncomes the covering of that hand and arm, like a discarded glove. He has\nnow but to take off the other, and he is free. Relieved of his dress he\nneither sells nor gives it away, but rolls it up into a neat solid ball\nand swallows it. The frog strips off and disposes of his outgrown skin\nin a similar way.\n\nStrange to say, toads and frogs can change to some extent the color\nof their skin to suit their homes. Kept in the dark with dark\nsurroundings, toads become darker in color, while those that are kept\nin light with white accessories become lighter. The color of the toad\nchanges more slowly than that of the frog. It is not the arrangement of\nthe color that alters, but merely a change from light to dark.\n\nWhat has been said applies to our Common American Toad, the _Bufo\nAmericana_ of the books. Let us now look at some curious specimens\nof the Bufonid\u00e6. The Pipa, or Surinam Toad, does not lay her eggs\nin water, but places them on her back. A fold of skin rises up and\nencloses each egg in a separate cell, until the young have not only\nbeen hatched, but have also passed through all their metamorphoses, and\ncome out fully formed. Another toad, abundant in Europe and Asia, is\nlargely colored with bright crimson, and the father-toad carries the\nlittle ones in separate cells fastened to his hind-legs like chains.\nThe young change to their perfect shape in these cells, and with the\nwithering away of the cells the young toads hop out, able to take care\nof themselves.\n\nSomewhere I have said that toads are generally silent. A little toad\nabout three inches long, called a Natter-jack, is common in England,\nand is a noted singer. His \u201cgluck-gluck, gluck-k-k,\u201d can be heard any\nnight. The Green Toad, well known on the Continent, is not so noisy as\nthe Natter-jack, but has a low, moaning cry.\n\nAll the Tree-toads, or Hylid\u00e6, have clear, shrill voices, and are\nfond of singing serenades. In the spring the Common Toad takes to the\nwater and there sings very loudly. The loud continuous trill that we\nhear in swamps in spring-time is made by toads, and not by frogs, as\nis generally believed. Another toad with a voice is the Spade-foot.\nThis Toad is rare, though widely distributed. It is remarkable for its\nfeet, formed for digging, its subterranean habits, and its queer way\nof appearing and disappearing very suddenly. After a rainy season the\nSpade-foot will emerge from its hiding-place, attract attention by its\nloud cries, swarm by hundreds about the ponds, lay innumerable eggs,\nand vanish. But while thousands of eggs are laid, scarcely any hatch,\nfor most of them perish from being laid so near to the water\u2019s edge as\nto become dried up on the subsidence of the water.\n\nThus we find that toads have three different methods of life. Some live\non trees, but seldom appear upon the ground. Others are underground\ndwellers, and hardly ever come to the surface. But the Common Toad, and\nhis numerous kin, are dwellers in the ground, hiding among grass and\nother herbage when asleep, or when the sun is too intense for their\ncomfort. But all toads, excepting the two varieties mentioned above,\nwhich carry their young on their bodies, repair to the water to drop\ntheir eggs, and the young live in the water until they have attained\nthe adult state.\n\n\n\n\nOUR NATURAL ENEMIES.\n\n\nNo animal, perhaps, is so little known and understood as the snake.\nThis is not because its study has been neglected or overlooked, as\nour scientific institutions are replete with fine collections of most\nof the reptiles, and exhaustive works upon their habits and customs.\nYet, notwithstanding this, the snake continues to be the subject of\never-recurring stories, fabulous in the extreme, that seem handed down\nfrom generation to generation. Strange to say, many of these stories\nare current among those who, from the nature of their lives, would\nbe expected to be well and accurately informed on the habits of the\nanimals. Farmers and horticulturists are plentiful who religiously\nbelieve that the Milk Snake, the beautiful _Ophibolus clericus_,\ndeprives milk-giving animals of their supply of milk. A statement often\nseen, and that has many believers, is that the Whip-snake of the South\nseizes its tail--which is supposed to have a sting--in its mouth, and\nrolls away in the form of a wheel, stopping suddenly and striking the\nenemy with the sting. Such fables are current by the score, and denial\nonly strengthens belief.\n\nMore than a hundred species of snakes, nearly all having a wide\ngeographical range, are found in America, north of Mexico. They\nconstitute the first order, Ophidia, of reptiles, and have long,\ncylindrical bodies, are footless, without a shoulder-girdle, and\ninvested with a coat of scales, which is shed in the summer months.\nSnakes have no eyelids in the strict sense of the term. Their eyes are\npermanently covered by a delicate membrane that takes the place of the\nlid, and this explains the stony stare, so disagreeable to many, that\nall snakes have.\n\nThe skeleton of snakes is so arranged as to allow the greatest freedom\nand flexibility. Numerous pieces of bone, hollow in front and convex\nbehind, make up the long tapering backbone, which literally works on\na ball-and-socket plan. Articular facets, that lock into each other,\nare found upon the processes of the vertebr\u00e6, and these strengthen and\ngive to the backbone a greater degree of flexibility. A more remarkable\narrangement, however, is found in the head, which enables the snake\nto prey upon animals that are larger than itself. The jaws seem a\ncombination of elastic springs, having no gauge to their tension, the\nquadrate bones connecting the lower jaw with the skull being movable,\nthus allowing that enormous gape with which all are familiar who have\nseen a snake swallow its prey. Besides this, the bones of the jaw\nitself and palate are more or less movable, also tending to the larger\ndistention of the throat.\n\nAs snakes do not tear or mutilate their prey, their teeth are not\nset in sockets, but serve merely to poison and stupefy the prey, or\nto prevent its escape, acting as hooks by which the body is hauled\nover the victim. The bones of the lower jaw, as we have seen, are not\nfastened closely to each other; so in swallowing prey the teeth on one\nside are advanced, and then those on the other side, and so on until\nthe victim is hauled, hand over hand, as it were, into the snake\u2019s\nthroat.\n\nPoisonous snakes, such as the rattlers, have two long, sharp fangs,\neach compressed and bent up, and forming a hollow tube, open at both\nends. The upper portion of the hollow fang is fastened to a bone in the\ncheek, which moves with ease, so that, when not in use, the fangs can\nbe packed away until needed.\n\nAll animals, man included, have doubtless in their saliva a deadly\npoison, though in the latter it is extremely diluted, and essential\nonly to the digestion of food. In poisonous snakes, however, it is\nstored up in sacs, modifications of the salivary glands, and placed in\neach side of the upper jaw. From the poison-gland under the eye forward\nto the edge of the jaw, a delicate canal, which opens into the fang\nabove the tube of the tooth, extends. Alongside of the latter may be\nseen rudimentary fangs, all ready to grow out should the large one be\nlost. To use the poison, the snake has merely to strike its prey, when\nthe muscles of the jaw, which are admirably fitted for the part they\nhave to play in the tragedy, press upon the glands, squeeze the poison\nthrough the little canal down through the hollow fang, and the work is\naccomplished.\n\nIn their actions, snakes are most graceful. The gliding motion, so\ncharacteristic, is effected by the movements of the large central\nscales, that are successively pushed forward, the hinder edges resting\non the ground and constituting a support. These scales, or pushers, are\nfastened to the ribs by muscles, and by holding a snake by the hand the\nswelling movement can readily be felt.\n\nSnakes vary much in color. They are generally adapted to their\nsurroundings. Green Snakes are found in green grass and vegetation,\nwhile grey snakes affect rocky districts, where they are alike\nprotected. Their skin is shed in one piece at various seasons of the\nyear, being forced off by the snake forming a ring with its tail and\nsqueezing the rest of the body through it, or by wriggling through\nentangled bushes. Poisonous snakes may be always recognized by their\nbroad, flattened heads, generally short and thick bodies, and the\nalmost invariable possession of a vertical keel along the centre of\neach scale. Long bodies, small heads devoid of distinct necks, and\nscales not keeled, characterize non-poisonous species.\n\nProbably the best-known of our common kinds of poisonous snakes are the\nrattlesnakes. They belong to the dangerous family Crotalid\u00e6, to which\nthe copperheads and moccasins also belong, and are distinguished by\nthe large, ugly head, absence of teeth in the upper jaw excepting the\nfangs, and the pit in the head.\n\n[Illustration: NORTHERN RATTLESNAKE.\n\nPrepared to Attack a Song Sparrow.]\n\n_Crotalus horridus_, our Northern Rattlesnake, has doubtless the widest\ngeographical distribution, being found in nearly every State in the\nUnion, from the Gulf of Mexico to Northern New England, and thence\nwest to the Rocky Mountains. It has a most forbidding appearance, and\nwhen once seen with its enormous head, triangular in shape, and large\nbrilliant eyes, with fiery irides, it can never be mistaken. Between\nthe eye and the nostril is a deep pit, a character that is peculiar to\nthe family.\n\nAll rattlers, as the name indicates, have a horny appendage to the\ntail, formed of separate button-like objects, that rattle together when\nthe tail is vibrated. This rattle not only serves to warn human beings\nof danger, but also to arouse in animals a curiosity that often proves\nfatal. The popular belief that a rattle is added every year, and that\nit is possible to determine the age of the animals by this means, is\nnot borne out by facts. Sometimes two rattles are known to appear\nwithin a year, and other instances are recorded where four have been\nattained in that period, and others still when several have been lost,\nnew ones taking their places. The number of rattles is also uncertain.\nThe greatest number, as observed by Dr. Holbrook, is twenty-one, but a\nspecimen is mentioned in the books that had forty-four.\n\nMild and peaceful in disposition, the Rattlesnake has never been known,\nunless provoked, to attack a human being, nor to follow him with\nhostile intention. He preys upon small animals, as rats, squirrels,\nrabbits and birds, and can always be approached when he is stretched\nout, only striking when he is coiled. He is not a climber, seldom,\nif ever, being found in trees. His alleged powers of fascination are\npurely mythical. The horror his presence inspires often paralyzes\nwith fear his victim, who, incapable of flight, stupidly awaits his\nfate. Men, women and children have been known, when attacked by\nthese animals, to become rooted to the spot, as it were, by fear and\nsurprise. All the so-called cases of fascination can be explained by\nthe fear which the snake\u2019s unlooked-for presence inspires.\n\nWonderful curative powers are imputed to the oil of the Rattlesnake.\nMany snakes are killed during the summer months for this oil, but the\ngrand gathering of the crop is in the fall, when they have repaired to\ntheir dens and wintering places. Sunny days in October and November\nare chosen by snake-hunters for raiding them. The snakes, dull and\nsluggish at that time of the year, crawl out of their dens upon the\nrocks, huddling together by the score for the purpose of basking in the\nsun. Armed with old-fashioned flails the hunters, when they come upon\na group of snakes, proceed at once to thresh them, but few making good\ntheir escape. The Rattlesnakes, assorted from other species that are\nfrequently massed together with them, are carried home, when the oil is\nsimply tried out, bottled up and is then ready for the market and the\ncredulous patient.\n\nNo subject connected with snakes, it would seem, has attracted so\nmuch attention as the vexed one as to the care which they take of\ntheir young. Snakes would hardly be expected to show any great amount\nof maternal affection, but that they do, and in a most remarkable\nmanner, by taking their young into their mouths, if alarmed, is a\nwell-established fact. The mother, when danger is imminent, sounds her\nrattle as a signal, opens her very large mouth, and receives in it her\nlittle family.\n\nThe bite of nearly all rattlesnakes is extremely dangerous, though not\nnecessarily fatal in the smaller kinds. Almost all animals succumb to\ntheir bite, and even man himself, if the proper remedy is not at hand.\nThere is a general belief that the hog is exempt, and acting upon this\nbelief farmers have been known, where these reptiles are very abundant,\nto turn in a few hogs upon them for their destruction. This animal,\nthough it has a fondness for the reptile, and exercises a great deal\nof caution in its attack, has not infrequently been killed by the\nreptile\u2019s poisonous fangs. Large doses of whiskey have been successful\nin neutralizing the effects of the poison, but it has been practically\nand experimentally proved that permanganate of potash is the best\nantidote.\n\nBut of all the poisonous snakes of this country, the Copperhead,\n_Ancistrodon contortrix_, is the most dreaded. In the South, he is\nknown as the Cotton-mouth, Moccasin and Red-eye, and is just as common\nin the Gulf States as in the Atlantic and Middle States. He attains a\nlength of two feet, is of a hazel hue, the head having a bright coppery\nlustre, and loves to conceal himself in shady spots in meadows of high\ngrass, where he feeds upon small animals, rarely, if ever, attacking\nlarge ones unless trodden on. The mother Copperhead has also been\nobserved to shelter her young in her mouth when threatened by danger.\n\n_Ancistrodon piscivorus_, the Water Moccasin, that commands so much\nrespect from the negroes of the South, is, from the pugnacity of\nhis nature, equally to be feared. While the Rattlesnake will slink\naway from danger, the Moccasin will attack man or brute with savage\nferocity. He is essentially a water-snake, chasing fishes and small\nreptiles in the streams of his native haunts, and may be recognized\nby the dark-brown colors on the upper portion of the head and the\nyellowish line that passes from the snout to or over the nostril. His\nlength rarely exceeds twenty inches, and he is stout in proportion.\nThe Moccasins show the same curious care for their young already\nmentioned. A low, blowing noise apprises them of danger, and into the\nslightly-opened mouth of the mother, which is held close to the ground,\nthey hurriedly disappear.\n\n[Illustration: MOTHER BLACK SNAKE.\n\nHer Affection for Newly-Hatched Young.]\n\nOne of the commonest of the non-poisonous snakes is the Striped Garter\nSnake, ten species of which being known in the United States. Upon\nthe earliest appearance of spring they are almost the first to roll\nout of their holes, where they have lain dormant in balls or clusters\nduring the cold winter months. Though easily excited, and striking\nquickly, yet their bite is little more than a scratch. Their appetites\nare now quite vigorous, and they have been seen to chase a toad for\nmore than fifty feet over a gravelly road, effecting its capture. They\nare remarkably prolific, and their numbers about pools are sometimes\nastonishing. It would seem that they are viviparous as well as\noviparous, from the fact that some young ones have been free and others\nin sacs in the abdomen of the mother. With a brood of forty or fifty\nyoung, which a single female has been known to produce, it would seem\nthat the Striped Snake would have a difficult time in protecting her\noffspring by taking them into her mouth. They have this habit, however,\nas abundance of evidence could be adduced to show. One witness observed\na Striped Snake upon a hillside, and noticed something moving about her\nhead, which proved to be young snakes. He counted twenty little ones\nfrom one and a half to two inches long. Led by curiosity, he made a\nmove towards the spot, when the old one opened her mouth, and they went\nin out of sight. He then stepped back and waited, and in a few minutes\nthey began to come out. Another witness came across a female with some\nyoung ones near her, who, perceiving him, uttered a loud hiss, and the\nyoung ones jumped down her throat, when she instantly glided away to a\nplace of concealment beneath a huge heap of stones.\n\nThe Black Snake, _Bascanion constrictor_, the mortal enemy of the\nRattlesnake, is a familiar species, and one that is widely distributed.\nAs winter approaches, these snakes come from far and near to some\napparently appointed place of rendezvous, where, rolling themselves\nup into a matted ball, they sleep the days and nights of winter away,\nand come out in the spring-time, when the common mother of us all has\nconditioned things to their habits and ways of life. In appearance,\nfrom a decorative point of view, they are very attractive, being of\na uniform steel-blue color, with a rich tessellated arrangement of\nscales. They are of wild and untamable natures, powerful and active as\nfoes, often engaging in encounters with other snakes, especially the\nRattlesnakes, whom they kill or force to disgorge their prey. In their\nmovements they are so rapid that they are often called the Racer. It\nis in the breeding season that they manifest their greatest boldness,\nand have often been known to go out of their way to attack a passer-by.\nThey will chase an intruder for a long distance, and will even descend\na tree to attack the one who is teasing them.\n\nIt is the Black Snake that appears the most frequently in the guise\nof a charmer. But, as has been remarked before, this power, so often\nimputed, is merely imaginary. The reptile preys upon birds in their\nnests, penetrating the thickets in quest of them, and often the\ncat-bird and the red-winged blackbird, which are so prone to attack,\nare seen acting strangely, crying and fluttering before the reptile in\nfear and rage, while thus _charmed_, and frequently falling a victim\nin their endeavors to protect their young. At such times the cries of\ndistress of the old birds bring birds of different genera together,\nwho join their forces against the common enemy, finally compelling him\nto retreat. Like other snakes mentioned, the Black Snake has the same\nremarkable habit of taking her young into her mouth for protection.\n\nAmong the most attractive forms are the Green Snakes. _Leptophis\n\u00e6stivus_, so common in the South, and occasionally to be met with in\nSouthern New Jersey, is of a brilliant green color, and so perfectly\nmimicking a vine that it would rarely be taken for a living creature\nwhen lying around the branches of a tree. They have a habit of coiling\nin the nests of birds, often surprising the egg-hunter by bounding\nswiftly away. Allied species, further to the South, have been observed,\nwhen approached, to leap twenty feet in the air, falling to the ground\nand making their escape. They are perfectly harmless creatures, and,\nlike the Green Snake of the North, can be handled with not the\nslightest risk of danger. We once knew a gentleman who had one in\nconfinement, whom he had trained to eat from a dish and to come to his\nhand at the sound of his voice. The beautiful creature, which was a\nfemale, showed the most marked affection, and would often twine her\nlittle form about his neck or glide her smooth head, lazily as it\nseemed, along his face and forehead.\n\n[Illustration: SUMMER GREEN SNAKE.\n\nManner of Mimicking a Vine.]\n\nAn extremely common snake in the Eastern United States is the\nWater Snake. _Nerodia sipedon_ is the name by which it is known to\nthe naturalist. There is in Michigan an allied form, known as the\nRed-bellied Water Snake, which is quite as common, while several other\nspecies abound in other localities. They are all inoffensive creatures\nand prey upon small animals. The female shows the same regard for her\nyoung as other kinds, suffering them, even when three or four inches\nlong, to take shelter in her throat, when she will clumsily turn in\nsearch of some place of concealment.\n\n[Illustration: WATER SNAKE.\n\nSwallowing Her Young.]\n\nWater-snakes generally affect water-courses, often hanging from the\nbranches of trees over streams, into which they drop when disturbed.\nDr. Bell, an English naturalist of distinction, once tamed a European\nspecies of this genus. This pet could distinguish him among a crowd,\nand would crawl to him, passing into his sleeve, where it would curl up\nfor a nap. Every morning found it at the doctor\u2019s table for its share\nof milk. For strangers it had an aversion, flying and hissing at them\nwhen any familiarities were attempted.\n\nWere these grovelling creatures better known, there would be found\nmuch in them to admire and commend. They are not the hideous beings\nthey are represented to be. The feeling of hatred against them, an\ninstinctive and unappeasable enmity, is perfectly natural, and has\ngrown out of religious superstitions. Fear, disgust and aversion are\nman\u2019s experiences at the sight of a snake, and there is at once a\ndisposition to seize a stick or stone, or to make use of his heel, if\nwell protected, to deal a fatal stroke. War to the death seems to be\nthe cry between the highest of the mammals and the serpent tribe. It is\nnot at all surprising, therefore, that the snake, seeing a human enemy,\nshould either glide hastily off into the bushes, or, being thwarted,\nshould coil itself up and hiss or throw itself forward in attack. Man\nwould do well to protect the snakes about his domains, and treat them\nas friends, for they do him invaluable service in the destruction of\nvermin that make havoc with his crops.\n\nAnts, bees, spiders, and many fishes, animals that are lower down\nin the scale than the snake, it is claimed, show far more forecast,\ningenuity and architectural ability than it, but asserters of such\nan opinion forget that the snake is never studied under favorable\nconditions. Long ages of persecution have made him fearful of man,\nfrom whose presence he flees as from a pestilence or scourge, and\nthere is consequently no chance to learn his better nature. Even man,\nuntil recently, has shown no inclination to make his acquaintance,\nbeing controlled by a dread which it appears well nigh impossible\nto overcome. Where the animal has been made to partake of the milk\nof human kindness, and has learned to regard man as a friend and\nnot an enemy, he has shown remarkable susceptibility to culture and\nenlightenment. Let it be hoped that a modicum of the wisdom which has\nbeen attributed to him from the earliest of times, when he was made the\nobject of homage and the insignia of the physician, shall at least be\nfound to remain to the credit of science and truth.\n\n\n\n\nHOUSE-BEARING REPTILES.\n\n\nTurtles are four-legged reptiles, with short, stout, oval-shaped\nbodies encased in bony boxes, from which they are able to protrude\ntheir heads, legs and tails, and into which they can withdraw them, at\npleasure. Considerable diversity exists in the size and shape of the\nbox-like covering in the different species. The Box Tortoise can retire\ninto his shell or house, closing the under part or plastron into a\ngroove of the upper edge of the carapace, as the upper part is called,\nthus constituting for his security an impregnable retreat. There are\nspecies only partly enclosed by the shell, which cannot bring their\nheads and feet under cover.\n\nWith his house upon his back the turtle wanders about as the snail\ndoes, and against his enemies can close its doors and be emphatically\nnot at home. He has acute sight and hearing, but is devoid of teeth,\nthe jaws being, like those of birds, simply cased in horn. Turtles\nare not altogether silent creatures, for many of them are capable of\nproducing very loud sounds.\n\nTheir eggs, which have a parchment-like covering, are buried in earth\nor sand, and left to themselves to hatch. The sea-turtle, our largest\nvariety, is sometimes found to lay as many as two hundred eggs in a\nheap, and in tropical regions has been known to attain a weight of\na thousand pounds. Even on the Atlantic Coast of the United States\nindividuals, weighing upwards of eight hundred pounds, have not\ninfrequently been captured.\n\nIn the four species of sea-turtles, the feet are flat and\npaddle-shaped, and the shell of one rather leathery than horny. Some\nof these marine forms are carnivorous, living on fish, mollusks and\ncrustaceans, while others are strictly vegetarians, subsisting only\non roots and the various sea-weeds. The flesh of some is rich and\ndelicious, and a favorite and costly article of food, but of others\nit is coarse and ill-flavored, and necessarily not edible. The eggs,\nhowever, are always sweet, good and wholesome food. Valuable articles\nof commerce, such as boxes, cases, knife-handles, jewelry and other\ndelicate ornaments, are made from the shell, for it is susceptible of a\nvery high polish, which brings out with surprising clearness its rich\nbrown and golden shades and markings.\n\nNext to the sea-living turtles, come the fresh-water species, which eat\nboth animal and vegetable foods. They enjoy much better than aught else\na bed of soft mud, their heads lifted above the surface of the stagnant\nwater, their long necks moving snake-like as they gulp in mouthful\nafter mouthful of air. They are generally gregarious in habits, large\nnumbers often being found huddled together in the sun on logs or banks,\nclose to the water, into which they quickly slide upon the first\nintimation of danger. Timid as they are, yet they will snap and bite\nmost furiously when taken in the hand.\n\nSalt- and fresh-water terrapins are varieties of turtle, although some\nscientists restrict the latter term to marine animals that do not\nhibernate, and that cannot draw their head and feet inside the shell.\nThe tortoise never goes to sea they say, can draw himself within his\nshell, although the Box Tortoise only can close the shell fast when\nthus withdrawn, and finally, that the tortoise hibernates. Some of the\nbest and latest writers on the subject call all these animals turtles,\napplying the name tortoise only to the familiar Box Tortoise of the\nwood.\n\nAwkward as turtles appear in their box-like covering, yet they can walk\nrapidly on land, are climbers of some note, and all are able to swim.\nThe head, neck, and legs of a turtle are of a bronze, blackish green,\nor deep-brown color, and the shells are beautifully marked, glossy,\nridged, or carved, and made up of closely-united, many-sided plates,\narranged upon a thickened, lighter-colored and apparently uniform\nbony plate, which is capable of being separated into many independent\npieces. The shell, or epidermic covering, is not brittle and lime-like,\nas the shells of all mollusks are, but is of the nature of horn. In\ngeneral the plastron is of a lighter color than the carapace, being\nlight-brown, yellow or cream, with yellowish lines dividing the plates,\nand with bordering bands of red, yellow and purple. The upper plate\nis usually of a very dark color, marked and lined with darker and\nlighter tints, and often displaying a bevelled yellow edge. _Chrysemys\npicta_, the Painted Turtle, receives his name from the beauty of his\nmany-colored shell, while the Spotted Turtle, _Nanemys guttatus_, which\nis often called the Wood Turtle, is distinguished by the round yellow\nspots that are regularly distributed over his dark-colored carapace.\n\nBut of all our turtles none is so well known or so interesting in his\nways as the Common Box Tortoise--_Cistudo clausa_. He affects dry\nwoods, and dislikes the water, and is a long-lived creature, some\nindividuals having been known to live more than a hundred years. Box\nTortoises in confinement have been found to eat meat, insects and bread\nand milk from the hand, but if berries were put into their mouths they\nwiped them out in a very funny manner with their front feet, which they\nused after the fashion of a hand.\n\n[Illustration: Copyright 1900 by A. R. DUGMORE.\n\nBOX-TORTOISE FEEDING ON FUNGUS.]\n\nWhen foraging in the woods, especially during the rainy season, at\nwhich time manifold varieties of fungi prevail, they make their meals\nlargely upon these plants. We have seen a huge toadstool that had been\ngnawed off so evenly, the central pillar only being left intact, that\nappeared as though it had been cut away by a knife. This had been the\nwork of the Box Tortoise, for on looking around we soon descried,\nmoving leisurely over the leaf-strewn earth, the creature himself\nmaking a fresh attack upon another species in a little opening in the\nwoods.\n\n[Illustration: COMMON BOX TORTOISE.\n\nBreakfasting on a Toadstool.]\n\nVery amusing it was to watch him, as with praiseworthy deliberation\nhe ate round after round of the cap of the fungus. He would bite off\na mouthful of the toadstool, chew it carefully until he had extracted\nthe whole of the juice, then open his mouth and drop out the masticated\nfibre, and take a fresh mouthful, not biting inward toward the stem,\nbut breaking off the morsel next beside that which he had just eaten.\nHe paced round and round the fungus as he took his bites, and as the\nfungus decreased in regular circles, the chewed fragments increased. In\nless than an hour he had eaten all the disk of the fungus to the stipe,\nand then walked slowly away to seek for another. The discarded parts of\nthe fungus appeared quite dry when examined, nothing nutritious being\nleft in them. There must have been some very good reason for rejecting\nthe central part and the stem, which were left in every instance,\nbut what that reason was we could not imagine. If a decayed or wormy\nportion of a toadstool was encountered in the feeding process, he did\nnot bite round it, but abandoned the plant altogether, and went off in\nquest of a fresh specimen.\n\nComing, in his travels, to a steep gully or ravine which he desires to\ncross, he does not attempt the undertaking without counting his chances\nof success. He seemingly revolves the matter over and over for some\ntime in his mind, and, when at last he has reached a conclusion, draws\nhis head and feet under cover, and by some quick, sudden jerk flings\nhimself down to the bottom, trusting to good fortune and his own wits\nto making his way over the further incline. Observation teaches that\nhis deliberations are generally attended with the accomplishment of the\nresult to be attained.\n\nThere is a very common turtle, quite abundant in the small lakes and\nstreams of our Western States, where he is trapped in great numbers for\nthe market, which country people dub the Snapping Turtle, or which,\nfrom the resemblance which the head and neck, when stretched out, bear\nto the same parts of the alligator, takes the name of Alligator Turtle,\nor _Chelydra serpentina_, with the more learned naturalist. He has a\nshell too small to close over him and hide him completely, but nature,\nto make up for this deficiency of covering, has given him a bold and\nhasty temper, which leads him to snap vigorously when disturbed.\nSnapping Turtles live rather harmoniously together, even when confined\nin the same pen, and only manifest their ugly dispositions towards each\nother when excited by causes from without, with whose origin they have\nnothing to do. Contests of a very vicious character are often thus\nprecipitated, which sooner or later end in the death of one or more of\nthe belligerent parties.\n\nDown in the pine countries of our Southern States lives a large, stout\nanimal, with a shell fifteen inches in length, which is denominated the\nGopher, or _Testudo Carolina_. These animals dwell in troops, several\nfamilies digging their dens or burrows near together, the entrance\nthereto being about four feet long and expanding into a spacious\napartment. In each burrow resides a single pair of Gophers. By day\nthe Gophers keep close house, but by night they wander out in search\nof food, devouring yams, melons, corn and other garden produce. They\ndislike wet weather, and always go in-doors when it rains. Gophers\u2019\neggs, which are as large as pigeons\u2019 eggs, and also their flesh, are\nhighly esteemed as articles of diet by the negroes.\n\nIn Europe, a near cousin of the Gopher is kept about the house for\na pet. If allowed, in the autumn, to find his way into a garden, he\ndigs a hole and hibernates, coming out in the spring. An English lady\nhad one of these animals which lived in the kitchen. He was fond of\ncreeping into the fireplace and getting under the grate, where he would\ncontentedly lie until the hot coal and ashes dropped upon his back and\nburnt his shell. When winter came this little creature wanted to take\nhis long sleep, and dug so persistently into baskets, drawers, boxes\nand closets, that finally a box of earth was given to him, into which\nhe worked his way until out of sight, and there he remained until\nApril sun and showers called him from his winter retreat. His fare was\npotatoes, carrots, turnips and bread and milk, which he especially\nliked.\n\n\n\n\nSUMMER DUCK.\n\n\nPerhaps no species of North American water-bird is more highly esteemed\nby lovers of the beautiful in nature than _Aix sponsa_--the Summer\nDuck, or Wood Duck--and, when obtainable, is one of the first to find\nroom in the collection of amateur naturalists. With the epicure,\nhowever, he is of rather inferior standing, lacking as he does the\ndelicacy of flesh which makes the green-winged teal and others of his\ntribe of such immense gastronomic value.\n\nThough truly an American species, yet this bird is more generally found\nthroughout the United States than any other, nesting wherever suitable\nlocalities present themselves. North of the Potomac River, and in the\nvarious States situated above the parallel of latitude which cuts its\nhead-waters, at least so far as the country east of the Rocky Mountains\nis concerned, it is chiefly a migrant, arriving towards the close of\nMarch, or in the beginning of April. South of this line, from Maryland\nto Florida, and thence south-westerly through the Gulf States into\nMexico, the birds are found in more or less abundance during the entire\nyear.\n\nPairing commences in the South Atlantic and Gulf States, we are told,\nabout the first of March, but in New England and the Middle States in\nfavorable seasons from the first to the fifteenth of April, whereas\nin the country bordering on the Great Lakes and in the Western States\ngenerally, it does not take place till the last of May or the beginning\nof June.\n\nUpon their arrival in our Northern States these birds, strange to say,\nunlike many of their numerous family connections, seldom frequent the\nsea-shore or the adjoining salt marshes, but manifest a predilection\nfor the ponds, mill-dams and deep muddy streams of the interior; and\nthe same is true in more southern latitudes, for they prefer to place\ntheir nests along the creeks and bayous of the land where the orange\nand palmetto charm the eye with perennial verdure.\n\nBetween the time of their appearance in March and the plighting of\ntheir vows at the accustomed trysting-places, the sexes consort\ntogether in flocks of four or more, but never in very large numbers,\nand fatten on acorns, the seeds of the wild oats, and such insects as\nthey can procure from the tree-branches or the muddy borders of the\nstreams and ponds which they so delight to visit.\n\nOn each recurrence of the mating season there is reason to believe\nthat the same couple come together and pledge anew their fidelity\nand affection, unless debarred by death, or some other of the many\nvicissitudes to which life is prone. The troth-plight sealed, and a\nunion effected, the happy couple soon start off in quest of a spot\nfor a home. In the case of old birds the same locality, where no\ninterference has been experienced from beast or man, has been known\nto be visited for four successive years. For obvious reasons, Wood\nDucks delight to live in close proximity to bodies of water, such\nplaces affording conveniences to the young, when they are sufficiently\nmatured to betake themselves thither, for food and exercise. Situations\nremote from water entail unnecessary labor upon the female, who is then\nrequired, at considerable risk and peril, to carry them one by one to\nthe pond or stream in her bill. When the distance is not too great,\nand the ground underneath the nesting-tree is amply covered with dry\nleaves and grasses, the young scramble to the mouth of the nest, drop\nthemselves down, and under the maternal leadership wend their way to\nthe much-loved fluid. Often the tree or stub which contains their home\nis found to overshadow the water. All that is necessary then is for the\ntender little creatures, after reaching the entrance, to spread their\nill-feathered pinions and oar-like feet and fling themselves down, a\nfeat which can be performed without jeopardy to life or limb.\n\n[Illustration: SUMMER DUCKS AND YOUNG.\n\nFemale Carrying Young in Her Bill from Nest in Hollow Tree.]\n\nAlmost any tree, or tree-branch, containing the essential hollow, and\nsuitably located, is utilized. Broken branches of high sycamores,\nseldom more than forty or fifty feet from water, are, according to\nAudubon, favorite places, while Wilson claims to have met the home\nof a pair of these birds in a fork composed of branches, and built\nout of a few rude sticks. In the South, the forsaken retreat of the\ngray squirrel and the hole of the ivory-billed woodpecker are common\nnesting-places. Often the entrance to the nest is apparently so small\nwhen compared with the bulk of the occupant that it is a matter of\nsurprise to many that she can manage to make her way into it without\nsuffering bodily injuries. But she does, nevertheless, which is an\nevidence that she either knows how to conform to circumstances, or\nis a better judge of dimensions than many of the would-be-wise lords\nof creation. All nests of our finding have been wide enough at their\nmouths to admit of easy passage, and have been from four to six feet in\nvertical direction. Soft decayed wood, and a few feathers, doubtless\nplucked from the breast of the builder, were their only contents. Dry\nplants, down, and feathers of the wild turkey, wild goose and the\ncommon barnyard fowl, have been observed, in addition to the foregoing\narticles, by other writers. The height of the entrance above the ground\nvaries from fifteen to thirty feet, but probably a less, or even a\ngreater elevation, may sometimes be attained.\n\nWilson speaks of a nest which he observed in an old grotesque white\noak, which stood on a slope of one of the banks of the Tuckahoe River,\nin New Jersey, just twenty yards from the water\u2019s edge, that had been\noccupied for four consecutive years. At the time of his visit the nest\ncontained thirteen young birds, which the maternal head was engaged\nin carrying down to the water to give them, perhaps, their first\nexperience in the art of swimming. So carefully, and yet so adroitly\nand quickly, did she perform this seemingly difficult task, that she\nwas less than ten minutes in its accomplishment. Although the male\nusually stands sentry while the processes of laying and sitting are\ngoing on, and signals the approach of enemies by a peculiar cry which\nhas been likened to the crowing of a young cock--\u0153-\u0113\u0113k! \u0153-\u0113\u0113k!--yet\nfrom the silence of one writer upon the subject we infer that the duty\nof rearing the rather numerous family is left to the mother, while\nhe--her friend and consequential partner, as though disdaining such\nignoble and degrading work, because of its slavish character--is off\nwith his gay companions, disporting themselves in mid-air, or trimming,\nwhile perched upon some sheltering bough, their rich and varied\nplumage. So intent, however, was the mother-bird upon the faithful\ndischarge of her home-duties, that she heeded not the stately sloop,\nthen nearly completed, as it lay upon the stocks close-by, with its\nhull looming up within twelve feet of her home, darkened with the\npresence, and reverberating with the noise of workmen, but continued to\npass in and out as though utterly unconscious of the so near approach\nof danger. Audubon claims that the male deserts the female when the\nperiod of sitting commences, and joins his sterner brethren, who\nunite into flocks of considerable numbers, and keep apart from their\npartners until the young are fully matured, when young and old of\nboth sexes come together, and thus remain until the return of another\nbreeding-season.\n\nThe female, it is evident from what has just been said, assumes the\nentire charge of incubation. For more than twenty-one days she is thus\nbusied, with nothing, it would seem, to relieve the monotony of her\ntask. How often she despairs and bewails the hardship of her lot, none\ncan know. It is the inexorable decree of fate that she should perform\nthe duties alone and unassisted, and most willingly she submits. But\nthe _ennui_ of the labor is, in a measure, forgotten in the vision\nthat hope holds out to her patience, for her persistent assiduity is\nultimately rewarded by a whole nest-full of happy ducklings. While the\nhatching process is going on the patient housewife only leaves the\nnest when pressed by the pangs of hunger, and but for a short time.\nBefore leaving, however, she takes the precaution to see that her\ncreamy-white, elliptical treasures, to the number of ten or thirteen\neggs, are carefully covered with down.\n\nLike the young of our domesticated species, the little Wood Ducks\nfollow the mother almost as soon as they are hatched, and gather\nwhatever of vegetable and insect food they happen to encounter. They\nare passionately fond of the water, and best show their real character\nwhen gracefully floating upon its glassy bosom, or diving into its\nazure depths. At an early age they respond to the parent\u2019s call with\na soft and mellow _pee, pee, pee-e_, which is uttered quite rapidly,\nand at repeated intervals. The call of the mother, when addressing the\nyoung at such times, is rather low and soft, and resembles that of the\nyoung, being only a little more prolonged.\n\nThese beautiful birds have often been domesticated. They become at such\ntimes so unsuspicious and familiar as to allow themselves to be stroked\nby the hand. No handsomer bird could be chosen for introduction into\nour yards. The male, some nineteen inches in length, and with a scope\nof wing of two and one-third feet, is a being of no mean proportions.\nBut it is the richness and variety of his colors that render him an\nobject of admiration. A conspicuous green and purple crest adorns\nhis head, while the sides, which are iridescent purple, are relieved\nof their monotony by a streak of white from base of bill to occiput,\nand by another, back of the eye, of a pure white color, which is\ncontinuous with that of the throat. The sides and front of the lower\nneck and the forepart of the breast are a bright chestnut, with five\nwhite spots, while the lower parts are generally white. Beautifully\niridescent metallic hues set off the upper surfaces of the wings, which\nshow most effectively in the blaze of the noonday sun. To the female\nnature has not been, it would seem to the casual observer, quite so\npropitious. Her grayish head, with lengthened hind-feathers, white\nthroat, brownish-yellow fore-neck, upper breast and sides, striped\nwith grayish and generally dark-brown upper parts, glossed chiefly\nwith purple, contrast most markedly with the rich, gorgeous attire\nof her other half. While less showy in dress and lacking the dignity\nof demeanor that characterizes her lord, she is none the less fitted\nto perform her part in the drama of life. Her dress, sober in color,\nand with just enough of ornament to relieve the oppressiveness of its\nsameness, is so accordant with her home-surroundings as to afford her\nthe protection and security she requires in the trying and perilous\nduties of brood-raising.\n\n\n\n\nAMERICAN WOODCOCK.\n\n\nQuite as interesting in habits is the American Woodcock, the _Philohela\nminor_ of Gray, which belongs to the grallatorial, rather than to the\nnatatorial, family of birds. In distribution he is somewhat restricted,\ndiffering in this respect from his numerous congeneric brethren, which\nhave a wide dispersion. He is chiefly a denizen of the eastern parts of\nthe United States, and of the British territory immediately adjacent.\nFort Rice, in north-western Dakota, and Kansas and Nebraska in the\nWest, appear to be the limits of his range in these directions. In the\nMiddle and Eastern States Woodcocks are found in greater abundance than\nanywhere else. While the bulk pass North to breed, a few remain in the\nSouth and raise their happy little families in spite of the ardor of\nthe climate.\n\nFew migrants arrive earlier at their breeding-grounds. They usually\nappear from the fifth to the tenth of March in New England and the\nMiddle Atlantic States, although instances are recorded where they have\nbeen observed as early as the twenty-fourth of February. These cases\nare rare, however, and only happen, if at all, when the weather has\nbeen remarkably auspicious for a lengthy spell. As a few birds have\nbeen known to winter in the North, when the season has been unusually\nmild, their emergence from sheltered localities so early might be\nconstrued by persons not cognizant of their presence, or of their\noccasional winter sojourn, as a case of recent arrival. In view of this\nfact, it would be difficult to prove that a bird seen in winter had\njust come from the South, unless discovered _in transitu_.\n\nSmall companies, from four to six in number, start together upon\nthe migratory tour. Low, swampy thickets invite their presence upon\nreaching their destination. Here they conceal themselves during the\nday, but when night has gathered dark they come out of their grassy\nretreats and wander about in quest of food. From the setting of the\nsun behind the western hills to the appearance of the first streaks\nof dawn in the east, they pursue their nocturnal rambles. Few persons\nhave visited these birds in their accustomed haunts while foraging.\nLet me take the reader to some neighboring swamp, or by the side of\nsome lonely woodland, which these birds delight to frequent. The utmost\nsilence must be maintained, or they will be frightened away. While it\nwill be difficult to see the creatures that have called us hither, yet\nwe know they are not far away by the rustle they produce among the\ndry leaves, and by the peculiar notes they emit. _Chipper, chip-per,\nchip_ may be heard from the right, and almost at the next instant it\nis varied to _bleat_ or _bleat ta bleat ta_, produced in the contrary\ndirection, or off in the distance, showing that the authors of these\nsounds have changed their positions. While these birds have a habitual\nfondness for humid thickets, they not infrequently betake themselves to\ncorn-fields and other cultivated tracts in close proximity, and even to\nelevated woods.\n\nFor more than a fortnight after their arrival the sexes, though feeding\nin company, do not apparently manifest a disposition to assume conjugal\nrelationship. The desire for food seems to outweigh every other\nconsideration. The inclemency of the weather, and the coldness of the\nearth, may have much to do with holding the amatory forces in check.\nBut when the opportune period arrives, which it does in the course\nof events, the sexes desist in a measure from their riotous living\nand give the nobler instincts of their being a chance to assert their\npower. The males are the first to feel the changes which are being\nwrought in their natures. For more than a week from the incipiency\nof this feeling, in the early morning and evening hours, they may\nbe seen exercising themselves by means of \u201ccurious spiral gyrations\u201d\nin mid-air, and uttering, as earthwards they descend, a note which\nhas been likened to the word _kwank_. This note may be a call to the\nfemale in the spring, but as it is often uttered in the fall after the\nbreeding-season is past, it may also be a summons for the gathering\ntogether of the members of the same household. The production of these\nsounds seems a labor of very great effort. But the movements of the\nmales at these times must be seen to be appreciated. The head and bill\nare bent forward until the latter comes into contact with the ground,\nand, just as the sound is being emitted, the body is urged violently\nforward. These spasmodic exertions having ceased, the actor in this\ndrama twitches his abbreviated, half-spread tail, assumes an erect\nattitude of listening, and, if no response is elicited, repeats his\ncharacteristic cry with all its accompanying movements. If the call\nawakes an answering note, the happy lover flies to the presence of\nthe one he seeks and lavishes upon her the most endearing caresses.\nSometimes, as Audubon affirms, the male awaits the arrival of the dear\none, and does not fly to meet her. The summons, according to the same\neminent authority, seem sometimes to be replied to by one of the same\nsex, which is always the prelude to a fierce encounter between the\ntwo, for, on such occasions, when the feelings are in a high state of\ntension, the most intense enmity exists between the males. But these\ncontentions are ordinarily short-lived, and cease with the assumption\nof matrimonial relations.\n\nThe happiness of the male is now complete. With his homely but\nprepossessing bride by his side, he soon journeys off in search of a\nhome. This is a matter of great consequence, and tasks the patience to\nthe utmost. But their labors are eventually crowned with success. The\nmost secluded resorts are visited, and in some low, dense and swampy\nwoods or brake, difficult of access, and one that none but the cruel\ncollector would be likely to find, they hide away their nest. The\nstructure is generally placed on the ground, at the foot of a bush or\ntussock, in the midst of small birches or alders, or on a decayed stump\nor prostrate log. In certain localities, it is snugly nestled in the\nmidst of a meadow. It is by no means an elaborate affair, but merely\nconsists of a few dried leaves or grasses which are scratched together\nby the female, and the work of a few brief hours at the most.\n\n[Illustration: Copyright 1900 by A. R. DUGMORE.\n\nWOODCOCK ON NEST (Showing protective coloring)]\n\nBeing ready for occupancy, the female soon commences to deposit her\neggs. These, to the number of three or four, are laid one at a time on\nconsecutive days. Oviposition, in the Southern States, commences in\nFebruary or March, while in the northern limits of the bird\u2019s range\nfrom the tenth to the fifteenth of April, seldom later. Both birds\nperform the labor of incubation, and so attentive are they to the\nbusiness that it is an unusual occurrence to find both absent from\nthe nest at the same time. When the female is sitting the male busies\nhimself in attending to the demands of hunger; and when her turn has\ncome the care of the nest is resigned to her noble, conscientious lord.\nSo faithfully do they keep to the nest that nothing short of the most\nmenacing danger will compel them to leave. The approach of a team or\na pedestrian, even when within a few feet of its location, has not\nbeen known to startle them. But when the danger is quite imminent the\nsitting bird slips out of the nest and makes her way into the tall\ngrasses, where, hidden from view, she becomes a silent and sorrowful\nwitness of any disaster that may befall her home. Should no destruction\nbe perpetrated, and the intruder has gone his way, she cautiously comes\nout of her place of concealment and resumes her labors. But she has\nlearned a very impressive lesson, for on a second visit to the nest no\nbird is to be seen. Apprised of the coming of danger, she has slipped\nout in time to escape detection. Thus, patiently, persistently and\nunweariedly these faithful creatures apply themselves by turns to the\ntask of sitting until success has crowned their willing labors. The\ntime spent in hatching is, under the most favorable conditions, from\nseventeen to eighteen days.\n\n[Illustration: AMERICAN WOODCOCK.\n\nMother Flying Away With Young Between Her Feet.]\n\nThe young are very timid creatures and keep close to their parents.\nConsiderable solicitude is shown by the latter for their well-being.\nTheir helpless infancy, so to speak, is watched over with all the\ncare that a human mother bestows upon her offspring, and when their\nlives are endangered recourse is had to many a _ruse_ to deceive their\nenemies and bring them into places of security. When severely pressed\nby foes, the mother, by a peculiar alarm, warns them of the state of\nthings, and while they are scattering in different directions seeks\nto attract attention to herself in many a well-feigned artifice. In\nher anxiety for their safety, she has even been observed to seize\nbetween her two feet a youngling and fly with it away--a behavior\nwhose purpose seemed to be the diversion of the enemy from the rest\nof the brood, thus giving them a chance to flee from impending peril\nto places of security in the surrounding verdure. After all danger\nhas disappeared, she summons them together again by a familiar call,\nand doubtless relates to them the story of her adventures and the\ndangers from which they were saved. Worms, animalcula, ants and other\nsoft-bodied insects, which the parents assist them in procuring from\nthe soft earth, and from beneath the grass and dead leaves that abound\nin the places they frequent, constitute their food. Later on they are\nable to obtain their subsistence, with all the address of older birds,\nby thrusting their bills into the soil and in such other places as\nwould be likely to contain the objects desired. Their tongues, covered\nwith a viscid saliva, adhere to the food, and when drawn into the mouth\ncarry it with them without danger of being lost. All who have made\nthese birds a study have often discerned holes made in the soft mud\nby their bills. The presence of these \u201cborings,\u201d as they are called,\nis always an indication that game is not far distant, which a careful\nexploration of the locality soon verifies. The young, when matured,\ncontinue to occupy the same haunts with their parents, and, unless\nbrought to an untimely death by the merciless gun of the hunter, repair\nto the warm, sunny, smiling South with the return of frost. In the\nMiddle States--and the same is doubtless true of other sections of our\ngreat country--there is never more than a single brood raised, although\nthe early breeding of the species would certainly afford time for a\nsecond hatching before the close of the season. Less pyriform are the\neggs of the Woodcock than waders\u2019 mostly are, being, in some instances,\nalmost ovoidal. Their ground-color varies from a light clay to one\nof buffy-brown, and the markings occur in the form of fine spots and\nblotches of chocolate-brown, interspersed with others of obscure lilac,\nmore or less thickly scattered over the surface of the egg, their size\nand intensity of color bearing, in general, a direct correspondence\nwith the depth of the background. Remarkable variations of size exist\nthroughout the species\u2019 range, some being short and broad, while others\nare long and narrow. A set of three from Pennsylvania, which the writer\ncarefully measured, showed an average measurement of 1.54 by 1.21\ninches.\n\nSo familiar a bird as the Woodcock, which is sometimes termed the\nBog-sucker or Wood-snipe, hardly needs description. He has a thick,\nheavily-set body, short and thick neck, and large head, bill and\neyes, and ears beneath the visual organs. His wings are short and\nrounded, the first three primaries being very narrow and shorter than\nthe fourth, and the fourth and fifth the largest. The tarsi are about\none and one-fourth inches long and rather stout, the tibi\u00e6 feathered\nto the joints, and the toes long and slender, and without marginal\nmembranes or basal webs. More than two and a half inches in length is\nthe bill, straight, tapering, and stout at base, with ridge at base of\nmaxilla high, and the upper mandible a little larger than the lower,\nand knobbed at the end. Three long grooves, one on ridge above, and the\nothers on each side of maxilla, complete the structural details of the\nbill. The sexes are alike, the female being larger than the male. Adult\nspecimens vary from ten to twelve inches in length, and have an expanse\nof wings of from fifteen to eighteen inches, and a weight ranging from\nfour to nine ounces. The eyes are brown, legs and bill of the dried\nskin pale-brownish, upper parts black, gray, russet and brown, chin\nwhitish, and rest of under parts different shades of brownish-red.\n\nSo exquisitely sensible is the extremity of the bill, as in the\nsnipe, that these birds are enabled to collect their food by the mere\ntouch, without using their eyes, which are set at such a distance\nand elevation in the back part of the head as to give them an aspect\nof stupidity. The eyes being situated high up and far back is a wise\nprovision of nature, as, by this peculiarity, they escape many of\ntheir enemies, their field of vision being greatly augmented by such an\narrangement. Obtaining their sustenance, as they largely do, by probing\nwith their bills, so amply endowed with nerves, they have comparatively\nlittle use for their eyes, unless to keep watch for their numerous foes.\n\nThough well known to the sportsman, yet by the casual observer this\nbird is frequently confounded with the Wilson\u2019s snipe. But the error\ncan readily be avoided, if it is borne in mind that the Woodcock has\nthe entire lower parts, including the lining of wings, a reddish-brown\ncolor, while the snipe has the abdomen white, the throat and upper\nparts of the breast speckled, and the lining of the wings barred with\nwhite and black.\n\n\n\n\nPIPING PLOVER.\n\n\nHave you ever been to the sea-shore? Then, of course, you have met the\nPiping Plover, but, perhaps, not to know him. He is of the size of\nthe robin, not quite so robust, but stands much taller, being mounted\non rather long, stilt-like legs, which admirably fit him for the life\nwhich he is designed to fill in the world. He belongs to the family\nof wading birds, and seeks the principal part of his food in or by\nthe water, which could not possibly be were his walking appendages\ncurtailed the least bit of their fair proportions. But to be more\nprecise in my word-picture, let me describe him to you as of a pale\nashy-brown color, fading into grayish upon the under parts, and as\nhaving his head set off with some narrow black bands, that on the neck\nrarely, if ever, forming a perfect ring. His bill will be found to be\nshort and stout and blunt, and there will be an appreciable lack of\nwebbing between the middle and inner front toes.\n\nNow that it is plain what the bird looks like, you are certainly\nprepared, more than ever, to take some interest in him in his brief\nstay by the sea. So strongly is he attached to the scenes rendered dear\nby past associations and memories that, from his winter home in the\nsunny South, and even from over the waters beyond our southern borders,\nhe hails with delight the return of the vernal equinox, for he knows\nfull well that it brings with it the summer\u2019s heat and all its varied,\npriceless wealth of insect life.\n\nSo with the first spring signs of open weather he quits his brumal\nretreat, winds his way up along the trend of the Atlantic seaboard,\nand at last reaches in the nights of early April the sandy beaches of\nour Jersey coast. In flocks of a dozen individuals they run about the\nsand in a most lively manner, and utter all the while a variety of\nnotes more or less pleasing, blending as they do with the deep-toned\nbass of the ocean. When this sound, welling up from a dozen throats, is\nheard in the dark it is particularly striking, as wild and weird as the\nwhistling of a wind at sea through the rigging of a ship.\n\nBut these flocks soon disperse into pairs to breed. Slight depressions\nin the dry sand, and always in the midst of groups of broken colored\nshells, but out of the reach of the maddened waves, rather than in\nmuddy, marshy places back of the beach-line, serve them for nests.\nThis nesting among clustered shells seemingly points to a love for\nthe beautiful. But may it not be that the shells but mark the various\nnest-positions in the unbroken waste of sand? We incline to this\nopinion. There is so much diversity manifested in the size of the\ngroups and in the arrangement and coloration of the individual shells\nthat comprise them, that no very great difficulty should be experienced\nby the several pairs nesting in the same locality in knowing each\nother\u2019s nest.\n\nWhile the birds are concerned with the cares of brood-raising, which\nis usually towards the close of May or the beginning of June, they\nconfine their feeding to the damp, wet sand. Between it and the dry a\nclear line of separation is plainly noticeable. It is only when they\nare ready for the home duties that they are seen to resort to aerial\nnavigation. Even when on the very boundary-line of the two stretches\nof sand, the wet and the dry, and with the nest almost in sight, they\nare known to assume wing, taking due care, however, to alight before\nthey have fairly reached the spot. In flight an advantage, that of a\nmore commanding view, is acquired, which walking does not give. But in\nleaving the nest for food, or for any other purpose, they, as before,\nwalk some distance away before they venture to fly. There is a seeming\npurpose in so doing, the object to be gained being the deceiving of man\nand other enemies as to the real location of the nest.\n\n[Illustration: FEMALE PIPING PLOVER.\n\nNest in Midst of Broken Shells.]\n\nAll these precautions are undertaken for the sake of the eggs, although\nin color and markings these so closely resemble the dry sand and\nintermingled bits of foreign substances, that such actions seem all\nunnecessary. When birds have been flushed from the nest, and its exact\nposition has been noted with the greatest care, I have failed, after\nseveral minutes of the closest searching, to detect the eggs, so true\nhas been the color-harmony between them and the surrounding sand. This\nresemblance in coloration must be seen to be fully appreciated. In\nground the eggs are the palest possible creamy-brown, but marked all\nover, quite sparingly, with small blackish-brown dots and specks, the\nlargest hardly exceeding a pin\u2019s head. Four is the usual number, and\nthese, from their peculiar pear-shaped form, are placed with their\npoints together in the centre of the nest. They are objects of more\nthan ordinary solicitude, the little Plovers making most violent\ndemonstrations and pleading piteously when they are approached.\nThe mother employs all the well-known artifices, such as lameness,\ninability to fly, to draw the intruder away from the nest. The young\nrun as soon as they leave the egg, and are great adepts at hiding,\nsquatting, and remaining motionless. Their downy plumage so assimilates\nthem to the sand that unless they reveal themselves by moving, it\nrequires a very keen eye to distinguish them from the numberless tufts\nthat are scattered about the higher reaches of the beach.\n\nAlthough so essentially a bird of the sea-shore, yet in August many\nscores of these birds come up the Delaware River as far as tide-water\nextends, feeding upon the mud-flats and gravel-bars, and occasionally\nwending their way up along the courses of the creeks until they find\nthemselves well into the country. It is interesting to watch them as\nthey run in and out among the little hills and hollows of the mud in\nquest of their prey. They are happy, light-hearted fellows, who do not\nbegrudge, when some racy tidbit has rewarded their hunting, to pipe a\nfew notes of thanks to Him who watches as tenderly over them as over\nthe mighty lords of the earth.\n\n\n\n\nBOB WHITE.\n\n\nSomewhat related to the grouse is the Quail, as he is called in\nthe Northern States, or \u201cBob White,\u201d his universally recognized\nappellation. His scientific name is _Ortyx Virginianus_. Differing\nfrom the Old World partridges, he has been assigned a place in the\nsub-family Odontophorin\u00e6, of which five genera are said to exist, most\nof them being restricted to the extreme south-west of our country. His\nhabits and history are full of interest to everybody.\n\nQuails are restless, uneasy birds, attached to one place while\nrearing their family, but immediately upon the brood becoming able to\ntravel, commencing their wanderings. There is no accounting for these\nmovements, which sometimes deprive a whole district of their presence\nfor a time, to populate a neighboring region previously without them.\nWhen such journeys are undertaken, a large number of birds participate,\ntravelling on foot, and passing steadily through districts where food\nis plentiful, and seemingly without any definite destination in mind,\nso loath are they to use their wings, that in attempting to cross wide\nrivers and inlets immense numbers are said to perish. A limited and\npartial migration, it is highly probable, takes place annually from\nthe more northern to warmer latitudes, influenced in its extent by the\ncomparative severity of the seasons, being more distinctly migrating\nwest than east of the Delaware River.\n\nAbout the middle of March the winter flocks break up, and the mating\nbegins. Although not indulging in the noisy and seemingly meaningless\nantics of the grouse to call attention to his personal attractiveness,\nBob White, it would appear, becomes suddenly conscious of his comely\nlooks and excellent voice. In a dignified manner, with head erect, he\nwalks proudly about, inviting the opposite sex to view him at his best.\nFrom the orchard gate he calls a saucy good morning to the farmer,\nknowing that the law holds its _\u00e6gis_ over him at this time, but he\nkeeps an eye to hawks, cats and other predatory animals that respect\nneither time, place nor season. He is polygamous, willing to assume any\namount of family responsibility, and will help to rear two, or even\nthree, broods a year, a successful pair often turning out twenty-five\nyoung in a season. It is not an uncommon occurrence to find a covey of\nlittle cheepers, scarcely able to fly, as late as November.\n\nAlthough paired so early, the Quails do not proceed to the business of\nnidification in the central part of their range until about the middle\nof May. The leeward side of some dense tussock of grass, a mouldering\nstump in a wild, matted meadow, the woody margin of a clover field\nor orchard, or an old pasture overgrown with bramble thickets, are\nsituations commonly chosen, the female, as is her undoubted right,\ntaking the lead in fixing upon the site. An artificial bed of grasses\nand vegetable trash, filling a shallow depression, is the nest.\nSometimes it is placed so as to be concealed by overarching grasses,\nthrough which a regular tunnel, several feet in length, conducts to the\nsanctum; and, at other times, is only covered with leaves and straw,\nwhich the birds themselves have rudely adjusted. The nest, which is\nconstructed solely by the females of the family, varies in dimensions\naccording to the number of this sex that anticipate using it, the male\nin the meantime going about in quest of food, or sitting upon a low\ntwig close by, cheering his wives by his trisyllabic note, and very\nfaithfully warning them of the imminence of danger.\n\nThe work is prosecuted with considerable zeal, three days at farthest\nsufficing to make the nest ready for the first egg, which is\nimmediately laid, and which is followed by one on each consecutive day,\nuntil seven or eight have been deposited. As many as thirty eggs are\nsometimes found in a single nest, which is due to the polygamy of the\nmale. Two, and often three and four females, are taken by a male, and\ntwo have been known to occupy simultaneously the same nest.\n\nWhen a pair of birds has established itself in a locality from the\nfirst, and has been successful in rearing a family of young during the\nensuing spring, if the females are in the majority the unprovided ones\nstill continue, as a general thing, to linger with the parents after\ntheir more specially favored companions have mated and moved elsewhere.\nThis is particularly noticeable in a new locality where the covey\nconsists entirely of members of a single family. In cases where several\nfamilies congregate in the fall, the chances are greatly in favor of\nmonogamy. Small flocks are more decidedly polygamous than larger ones.\nWe have never observed the converse--that is, more than one male to a\nfemale--but where several pairs are found in the same field, at slight\ndistances from each other, there is sometimes a noticeable tendency to\nassociate.\n\nThe eggs of the Quail are crystal white, sometimes slightly tinged with\nyellow, and pyriform in shape. Eighteen days are required for their\nhatching. Where the father is not fortunate enough to possess a harem,\na part of the work devolves upon him, while the mother seeks food and\nrecreation; but where there are several females, the work is divided\nvery amicably among them, each sitting about half a day at a stretch,\nthen calling her relief with a low note, if there be only two, the\nmale taking no part in the labor of incubation whatever. Should the\nfamily be larger, two females will sit side by side on the eggs, there\nbeing too many in number for one breast to cover. Meanwhile the husband\nremains close by, chirping encouragement in a low tone, and betimes\nmaking the field vocal with his loud, clear whistle. He is exceedingly\nvigilant, and if a human being approaches the nest gives the alarm to\nhis partners, who secretly withdraw from the nest, while he, thoughtful\nhusband as he is, flings himself upon the ground in front of the\nintruder, feigning lameness or injury, and seeking by every device\nknown to him to attract attention and pursuit, till having beguiled the\nenemy far away from his home he seeks safety for himself in flight. The\nexperienced o\u00f6logist pays no regard to this deceit, seeing in it only a\nsign of the nearness of the coveted prize, but patiently continues his\nsearch until he has discovered its whereabouts.\n\n[Illustration: HOME OF BOB WHITE.\n\nTwo Wives on Same Nest.]\n\nTwo broods are invariably raised and often a third, but the last\nappearing late in the summer, and scarcely attaining their growth\nbefore the coming of snow. If unmolested, it is evident, therefore,\nthat the species would increase with great rapidity, as shown by\nthe celerity with which regions, where the birds had been well nigh\nexterminated, have been replenished when a period of quiet for a season\nor two has been allowed them. The young run about in a very lively\nmanner as soon as they have left the shell, and in a few days are given\nover to the care of the father, whom they follow and obey as readily as\nthey did the mother, possibly because they do not recognize the change\nof guardians, while she returns to the cares of rearing another family.\n\nDuring the spring and early summer both old and young find an\nabundance of food for themselves in the larv\u00e6 of various insects, the\nsucculent shoots of growing plants and such seeds as abound. Later on,\nstrawberries, blueberries, huckleberries and other wild fruits supply\ntheir demands. In August they grow fat upon grasshoppers, and as this\nis the time when seeds ripen, acorns and beech-nuts fall, and the\nstubble-fields are full of scattered wheat, rye, barley and maize, and\ninsects are plentiful upon the ground, they feast themselves to satiety\nbefore the winter begins, until they have reached that delectable\nplumpness so highly esteemed by _bon vivants_. Attaining their full\ngrowth by the end of September, at least in the case of the earlier\nbroods, the season of play for the partridges and sport for the gunner\nhas come. Quail-shooting is regarded as a test of marksmanship in the\nUnited States. So rare and wild have the birds become by reason of\nincessant hunting, that it certainly requires skill and fine shooting\nto make a bag. Bred in the open fields, and feeding early in the\nmorning and late in the evening, a man may beat a field all day, and\nput up only one or two birds, when he is certain that twice as many\nlay concealed, huddled up in little knots in out-of-the-way places,\nwhich the best of dogs might easily pass without discovering. Their\ninconspicuous colors, too, which are in keeping with the objects around\nthem, so conceal them from the vision of the hunter, that, trusting to\nthem, they will sit immovable until he has gone some distance beyond,\nwhen they will spring up and away like so many arrows, requiring a\nquick eye and a steady hand to turn and drop a brace.\n\nWhen ultimately flushed, they fly to some particular covert, and\nso long as this thicket or fern-brake remains undiscovered, will\nrepeatedly repair to it for safety and security. A rather curious\ncircumstance, which has created no little discussion among American\nsportsmen, materially aids their concealment. When alighting, after\nbeing flushed, the Quail is said to give out no scent for some little\ntime. This is supposed to be a voluntary act of retention of odor on\nthe part of the bird, as a conscious method of protection. Some, while\nadmitting the fact, believe it to be a power belonging to particular\nbevies, at least in a far greater degree than to others, like the\ncustom of alighting upon the branches of trees when frightened, while\nothers restrict the faculty to particular individuals rather than\nbevies. Our earlier ornithologists do not mention the retention of\nscent. It is probable, as claimed by a few, that Quails\u2019 swift running\nover the dry leaves of upland woods or meadows allows little time and a\npoor surface for the transmission of the scent, and that when they drop\nsuddenly and remain quiet no effluvium escapes, but which only becomes\ndisseminated the very instant they move.\n\nThe open fields being smitten by the wild winds of November, and the\nreeds bruised and broken, the Quail retreats to the depths of the swamp\nor the shelter of a dense thicket, where he keeps life in him as best\nhe can during the cold, stormy days, hunting the stubble and swamp\nfor soft-shelled nuts and seeds, torpid beetles, and the hard fruits\nand seed-cases of grasses and weeds, some of which, the skunk cabbage\nfor example, tainting his flesh with their flavor. Huddled together\nthe forlorn covey allow the snow to cover them, trusting to shake it\noff on the return of the morning, but occasionally a crust freezes\nupon the surface, and the poor birds find themselves in a prison from\nwhich they cannot break out before they starve to death. The habit of\nhuddling is peculiar to Quails the whole year round. They select at\nevening some spot of low ground, where the long grass affords shelter\nand warmth, and there they encamp, sleeping in a circle, shoulder to\nshoulder, with heads turned out, keeping each other warm, and ready\nto escape at a moment\u2019s warning without stumbling over one another.\nA suitable roosting-place once found, night after night they repair\nthither, leaving it in the morning before sunrise to seek their\nbreakfast.\n\nUnless the winter be unusually mild, they may be seen associating in\nthe pasture with the cattle, and even following them home to glean\nthe grain that falls into the barnyard, and pick up the scraps that\nare thrown to the chickens. This delightful confidence is not always\nabused, for many persons take pains to foster the bevies they find\nspending the winter in some brushy hillside near the house by daily\nscattering grain or clover-seed upon the snow where the hungry birds\nmay come and get it. The pert air with which one of the cocks will\nperch himself on a fence-rider or walk sedately along a stone wall in\nthe early sunlight of a glistening January morning is reward enough\nto the benefactor, if he cares not to preserve them for the selfish\npleasure of shooting them the following autumn.\n\nAs a delicate article of food the Quail is highly esteemed, and during\nthe time the law allows the markets are filled with bunches of them.\nVarious devices in the form of snares, nets and traps are called into\nservice to effect their capture, and in some parts of the country, New\nEngland especially, fresh importations have been necessary to preserve\na sufficient number for sport. Bands of beaters in the Southern and\nWestern States cautiously drive immense flocks into nets, but there\nis less danger of exterminating this than almost any other species of\ngame-bird, it would seem, on account of its sequestered habits and\nprolificacy.\n\nTaming and domestication is an easy matter with these birds. In all\ncases, however, where the eggs have been hatched under a hen at\nliberty, the Quail chicks have run away to the woods as soon as the\nleaves have turned sear in the fall and never come back. They sang\ntheir \u201cAh, Bob White!\u201d just as clearly before they had ever heard one\nof their kin as any woodland-bred Quails could do. It is quite common\nto re-colonize portions of the Eastern States when they have become\ndepopulated, and an effort made some years ago to introduce these birds\ninto the Salt Lake Valley of Utah was eminently successful. Within the\npast few years some of the West India Islands have been colonized, but\nattempts to acclimatize the birds in England and Ireland have proved\nmost signal failures.\n\n\n\n\nRUFFED GROUSE.\n\n\nConsiderable misapprehension exists in relation to the popular\nappellation of this species. In some parts of the country it is dubbed\nthe Partridge, while in others it goes by the name of Pheasant. It is\nneither. All its affinities point away from these families, in the\ndirection of the True Grouse, of which it constitutes a useful and\ninteresting member. Pheasants are never found in the United States, but\nare indigenous to Southern Asia. Their nearest representative here is\nthe Wild Turkey. Almost as much may be said of the Partridge, a group\nof birds which are exclusive denizens of the Old World.\n\nBut now to our subject. Few Grouse are so well known as the Ruffed\nGrouse, the _Bonasa umbellus_ of Stephens. Everywhere throughout the\ntimbered regions of Eastern North America it is more or less plentiful,\nranging from the Atlantic seaboard to the Rocky Mountains, and from\nGeorgia to Nova Scotia. In all our Southern States, Louisiana excepted,\nthese birds exist to some extent, and are also to be found over limited\nportions of the Missouri region, but, doubtless, more especially\nabout the mouth of the river, and in the contiguous country. In the\nwestern parts of the region it is represented by a form which passes\nwith ornithologists as a well-defined, genuine variety. It seems to be\nwanting in California, but in the wooded sections of the Cascade Range,\nas well as in the valley of the Willamette in Oregon, where it exists\nunder a new varietal name, it is by no means an uncommon occupant. In\nthe New England, Middle Atlantic and Northern Central States it is that\nthese birds are to be seen to the best advantage, and in the greatest\nnumbers. West of the Mississippi, if we exclude Eastern Kansas,\nSouthern Iowa and the whole of Missouri, they occur, if at all, in\ncomparatively small and isolated parties.\n\nIn regions which these Grouse inhabit, they are permanent residents,\nand are never known to move southward with the retreat of warm weather.\nThey are capable of adapting themselves to climatic variations with\nease, but not so readily to surface irregularities and their natural\nconcomitants. Dense woods, craggy mountain-sides and the borders of\nstreams are noted places of resort. Lowlands, especially such as are\ninvested with thick growths of small bushes and tall, rank grasses, are\nnot infrequently chosen. When in search of food and gravel, they are\nknown to quit their favorite haunts and betake themselves to the open\nroad, where groups may be seen absorbed in feeding, but not to that\nextent, however, when the rustle of a moving leaf or the crackling of\na twig would pass unnoticed. The slightest noise causes a temporary\nsuspension of labor and a momentary shudder of surprise. All of a\nsudden, and in the most perfect harmony, all heads are raised and\npointing in the direction whence the noise emanated. The keen vision\nof these birds is not slow in discerning, through the gloomy recesses,\nthe presence of danger; but should nothing of an alarming nature\nmanifest itself, a short parley ensues and business is resumed, though\nnot with the same earnestness and lack of care, however, as before.\nGreater caution is now observable, and every effort taken to prevent an\nambuscade. But let the cause of the alarm, a dog or a man, be close at\nhand, and the birds immediately strike for the cover, either on foot\nor by means of flight, the latter method only being adopted in extreme\ncases, when the other course would be attended by disaster and probable\nruin. In the exercise of their cursorial powers, they move with\nremarkable swiftness, as with head depressed and tail expanded they run\nfor their lives. A pile of brushwood or an impenetrable jungle, when\nnear, is rendered subservient. There they manage to conceal themselves\nfor a time and thus recover breath. Closely pursued, and in danger\nof being trampled upon by the foot of the huntsman or lacerated by\nthe fangs of his quadrupedal friend, they await the opportune moment,\nwhen, with sudden whirring wings, they cleave the elastic ether and\nvigorously press forward to some transitory haven of security, but only\nto fall once more in the way of their relentless persecutors. These\nflights are so well timed and so unexpected that many an experienced\ngunner is thrown off his guard, and when, at last, he has recovered\nfrom his surprise and collected his thoughts, feels vexed at himself\nfor allowing his equanimity to become unsettled by so familiar a\nstratagem. He finds it useless to repine, but endeavors to choke down\nthe bitter sigh of disappointment that arises as he presses forward to\nfurther adventures.\n\nLike the common barnyard fowl, these Grouse are strictly gregarious,\nespecially during the autumnal and winter months. The flocks they form\nvary in numbers, and when disturbed, while feeding, scatter in all\ndirections, each member seeking only its own individual safety and\nwell-being. But after the lapse of a few minutes, becoming reassured,\nthey gather simultaneously about the same spot, travelling the entire\ndistance on foot. The utmost circumspection and vigilance are always\nexercised in these backward movements. Scarcity of food occasionally\ncauses these birds, where very numerous in mountainous districts, to\nmigrate to other places. These journeys are usually undertaken about\nthe middle of October, they then being in excellent order and in\ngreat demand for the table. Audubon witnessed, in the fall of 1820,\nan immense number _in transitu_ from Ohio, Indiana and Illinois to\nKentucky, many of whom became a prey to man. This disposition to lead\na roving, migratory life is, as a general thing, not hereditary, and\nconsequently is seldom undertaken, plenty of food usually being found\nin localities which these birds affect.\n\nWhere there is a paucity of food-materials, such as acorns, the seeds\nof the beech and of the various species of birch, they do not hesitate\nto devour the buds of the mountain laurel, which impart a poisonous\ncharacter to their flesh. When severely hunger-pressed they feed upon\ndry bark, the insects that harbor in the creviced trunks and branches\nof trees, and even stray to the roads that wander through their gloomy\nretreats and peck at the hard, frozen horse-droppings they chance to\nencounter. But when spring returns and renews her bond of faith with\nMother Earth, they more than make up for their scanty winter fare and\nfeast with fastidious appetites upon the now tender and juicy buds\nof the black birch, which give a peculiar and toothsome flavor to\ntheir flesh that has acquired for them in some localities the name\nof Birch Partridge. For a brief spell every other interest is now\nabsorbed in that of unrestrained feasting, to which the sexes submit\nthemselves with all the _abandon_ of civilized humanity. The middle\nof March, or the close of the month dedicated by the ancient Romans\nto purifications and fastings, when the weather is favorable, marks a\nchange in their life. This era is announced by a loud drumming noise,\nwhich is everywhere heard. Standing upon a tall rock or a prostrate\nlog in some secluded woods or other locality, the author of this\nnoise may be found. His attitude and demeanor needs must be seen to\nbe appreciated. Once seen, he can never be forgotten. Arrayed in a\nbrand-new spring suit, he is a being not to be despised. But this is\nnot all. His beautifully-contracted neck, broad, expanded, fan-like\ntail and elevated feather-tufts that ornament both sides of his neck,\nas he struts about with all the grace and dignity of some pompous\nlord or duke, render him of no mean importance and greatly add to his\nattractions.\n\nBut it is his final actions that impress the beholder with wonder\nand admiration. The hitherto trailing wings now assume a condition\nof rigidity, and commence a firm, but slow, downward and forward\nmovement, which steadily increases in power and rapidity, until the\nswiftly-vibrating wings appear only as a semi-circular outline of mist\nabove the bird, thus giving rise to a sound which may be appropriately\nlikened to the reverberations of distant, muttering thunder. These\nsounds are most generally heard during the cool hours of the morning,\nwhen his spirits are buoyant after a night of refreshing slumber. But\nas the day advances, they are less frequent, and irregular. So nicely\ncan they be imitated, that many a bird is drawn to his doom, when\nadvancing, as he supposed, to meet an antagonist.\n\nAs the drumming is as often heard in the fall as in the spring, it has\nlong been a mooted question as to its significancy as the call-note\nof the male during the period of breeding. But there can be no doubt\nof the correctness of this interpretation, for incontestable proof\nexists of it in the responsive actions of the female. Nuttall is\nprobably correct in ascribing the autumnal exhibition of the power to\nself-gratification, and in affirming it to be, in many instances, \u201can\ninstinctive expression of hilarity and vigor.\u201d\n\nBesides the peculiar drumming sound which the males produce during the\nlove-season, they give expression to other vocal utterances no less\nremarkable. These are generally enunciated when about to arise from the\nground, and consist of two well-defined and characteristic notes. The\nfirst may be described as a sort of cackle, repeated several times in\nlively succession; and the other, which closely follows in its wake,\nas a peculiar lisping whistle, which has not inaptly been compared to\nthe cry of a young bird. These notes doubtless play a considerable part\nin the reconciliation and bringing together of the sexes after their\ntemporary separation.\n\n[Illustration: RUFFED GROUSE IN SPRING-TIME.\n\nTwo Males Displaying Their Graces Before a Lone Female.]\n\nWhile the courting-season lasts, it is not an uncommon occurrence to\nfind a single male in the midst of several females before whom he is\nengaged in showing off his many good qualities and graces, or two\nmales displaying, upon the same fallen log, the excellent beauties of\ntheir person and movements. In the former dilemma, enamored of so\nmany, he is sometimes disposed to be gay and trifling, dallying with\nthe affections of some pure, simple-minded female. The most cruel\nflirtations are often indulged in. But when he does bring himself\nearnestly down to the business of choosing a partner, he does not go\nabout it in an uncertain, hesitating manner, but makes his selection\nwith promptness and dispatch. The successful female, proud of the honor\nconferred, at the call of her lord, forsakes the group of her unmarried\nsisters, and follows wheresoever he leadeth. The warmest tokens of\naffection and regard are lavished upon the elected bride, and woe to\nthe rival who should appear upon the scene while these amours are being\nenacted. Should this event occur, the intruder is instantly assailed,\nand a long and bloody battle ensues, which results in the death of\none or other of the combatants, but never in the complete vanquishment\nof the defensive party. Instances are known where males have treated\ntheir first loves with cruel indifference, and subsequently deserted\nthem, but such things could not otherwise be, as will be seen when\nthe question of polygamy comes to be considered, for it is a fact,\nnot generally known, that both birds are slightly promiscuous, the\ntendency being more pronounced, however, upon the part of the male. In\nthe case where a single female is courted by two males, the successful\ncompetitor for the honor of her hand, so to speak, is he whose\nmovements are marked by the greatest elegance and grace. So intense\ndoes the desire to please become, that the slightest disposition upon\nthe part of the lady to favor one of the rivals rather than the other,\nleads to the most unhappy consequences, a quarrel being precipitated,\nthe contestants seeming determined to settle the result by the gage of\nbattle.\n\nThe time of mating varies somewhat with climate and with the conditions\nof the season. In the warm, sunny South it occurs late in March or\nearly in April. But further North, where winter still lingers with\nfrosty coldness, the latter month is well nigh verging to its close, or\ngliding into the succeeding, before this essential business is thought\nof. When, however, it does happen, the female, with but little waste\nof time, withdraws from the society of her partner, and repairs to a\nsecluded spot in the midst of a woods, where, usually beneath a clump\nof evergreen, or a pile of brush, or perhaps a fallen log or projecting\nrock, she hastily scratches a few dry leaves together for a nest. There\nshe deposits, one by one, on as many consecutive days, her complement\nof six to twelve eggs, and immediately enters upon the duties of\nincubation. In this she is alone, the male lending no assistance, not\neven indirectly by attending to her demands for food. While she is\nthus occupied he seeks the company of others of his sex, with whom\nhe remains until the young are nearly full-grown, when he joins the\nfamily, and dwells with it until spring. The period of incubation\nranges from nineteen to twenty days.\n\nWhen first hatched the young follow the mother, and soon learn to\ncomprehend her clucking call, as well as to act responsively thereto.\nFew mothers are more devoted to their children, and it is rare to\nfind one more courageous and wily in their defence. Let the family\nbe surprised by friend or foe, a single note of alarm is all that is\nnecessary to cause the brood to scatter, and with the most clever\nadroitness to hide themselves beneath a bunch of leaves or grass.\nSo successfully is the concealment accomplished, that a careful and\nprotracted search is often necessary to discover their whereabouts.\nOften, when squatting by the roadside with her brood, the parent is\ntaken unawares. This is the trial which she of all others seems to\ndread. To save her little ones she perils her own life by venturing\nupon an assault. Her first impulse is to fly at the face of the\nintruder, but sober thought comes to her rescue and teaches her the\nfolly of such a course. She yields to the thought and the very next\nmoment we find her tumbling over and over upon the ground, apparently\nin the deepest distress, but soon to recover her self-possession in\ntime to carry out the final piece upon the programme, a _ruse_ in which\nlameness is imitated with wonderful ingenuity. While the mother is\nthus agitated, the birdlings are seen to scamper in every direction\nto places of shelter. Having accomplished her part, the happy mother\nnow flies away, and by her well-known cluck soon gathers her brood\ntogether. The cry of the young is a simple _peet_, which is heard\nrepeatedly during feeding, but only occasionally while nestling.\nTheir food consists of the seeds of various plants and berries. While\nable to search for their own food, they derive, however, considerable\nassistance from the mother.\n\nSuch cunning, wee creatures, when first they leave the egg, can only\nbe compared with the young of the domestic hen. Dressed in a simple\ngarb, they look but little like their parents. Above they show a\nreddish-brown or rufous coloring, which fades into a rusty-white below.\nExcepting a dusky streak which starts from the posterior part of the\neye and crosses the auricular regions obliquely downward, and a whitish\nbill, they have nothing to diversify the monotony of their plumage. But\nwhen they have attained the age of four or five months, they show their\nheredity so plainly that their identity cannot be disputed or mistaken.\n\nIn the adult, the tail is reddish-brown or gray above, with narrow bars\nof black. Terminally, it is crossed by a slender band of pale ash,\nwhich is preceded by a broader one of black, and this by another of an\nashy color. The upper parts are ochraceous-brown, and finely mottled\nwith grayish markings. The lower parts are chiefly white, with broad\ntransverse bars of light brown, which are mostly hidden from view upon\nthe abdomen. Upon the shoulders the shafts of the feathers have pale\nstreaks, which also exist in those of the wing-coverts. The upper\ntail-coverts and the wings are marked with pale, grayish cordate spots,\nwhile the lower tail-coverts are pale ochraceous, each being provided\nwith a terminal delta-shaped spot of white, which is bordered with\ndusky. The neck-tufts are brownish-black. The male measures eighteen\ninches in length, and has a breadth of wings of seven and two-tenths\ninches. The tail is about seven inches long. The female is smaller than\nthe latter, with similar colors, but has less prominent tufts upon the\nsides of the neck.\n\nThe eggs of this species are usually of a uniform dark-cream color,\nbut sometimes show a nearly pure-white ground. In most specimens there\nare no markings at all, but when they do occur, are either quite\nnumerous and conspicuous, or few in number, and obscure. They are\nusually ovoidal, but forms are occasionally met with which are nearly\nspherical. Their average dimensions, as obtained from specimens from\nthe most diverse localities, are about 1.64 by 1.18 inches. As far as\nknown the species never produces more than a single brood annually,\nusually nesting, as has been previously stated, on the ground, but\ninstances are recorded by Samuels, where the female has occupied a\ncrow\u2019s nest, or the shelter of some tall broken trunk of a tree.\n\n\n\n\nAN OLD ACQUAINTANCE.\n\n\nLittle is known of the early history of the domestic Turkey. Writers\nof the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries seem to have been ignorant\nabout it, and to have regarded it as the guinea-fowl or pintado of the\nancients, a mistake which was not cleared up until the middle of the\nlast century. The name it now bears, and which it received in England,\nwhere it is reputed to have been introduced in 1541, was given to it\nfrom the supposition that it came originally from Turkey. As far back\nas 1573 we read of it as having been the Christmas fare of sturdy\nBritish yeomanry.\n\nOviedo, a Spanish writer, speaks of it as a kind of peacock that was\nonce very abundant in New Spain, as Mexico was called in his day, and\nwhich had already, in 1526, been transported in a domestic condition to\nthe West Indies and the Spanish Main, where it was maintained by the\nChristian settlers.\n\nAmong the luxuries possessed by Montezuma, the proud, dignified,\nsemi-cultured monarch of the Aztecs, was one of the most extensive\nzo\u00f6logical gardens on record. Representatives of nearly all of the\nanimals of the country over which he reigned, as well as others,\nbrought at great expense from long distances, were to be found within\nits walls. Turkeys, it is said, were daily supplied in large numbers to\nthe carnivores of his menagerie.\n\nRespecting the time when this bird was first reclaimed in Mexico from\nits wild state, there can be no idea. Probably it has been domesticated\nfrom remote antiquity. No doubt exists, however, as to its being reared\nby the Mexicans at the period of the Spanish Conquest, and of its\nsubsequent introduction into Europe, either from New Spain, or from the\nWest India Islands, into which it had been previously carried.\n\n[Illustration: MEXICAN WILD TURKEY.\n\nAncestor of the Domestic Bird.]\n\nAudubon, one of the early pioneers of American ornithology, supposed\nour common barnyard Turkey to have originated in the wild bird so\nprevalent in the eastern half of our great country. But it has always\nbeen a matter of surprise to naturalists that the latter did not\nassimilate, by interbreeding and reversion, more intimately in color\nand habits to the domestic form. No suspicion, until recently, appears\nto have been entertained that the two birds might belong to different\nspecies. That such is the true _status_ of things, there is now no\nreasonable doubt.\n\nOur common Wild Turkey, once so plentiful in Pennsylvania, is now\nrestricted to the more eastern and southern portions of the United\nStates, while in the parts of Texas, New Mexico, Colorado and Arizona\nadjacent to the southern Rocky Mountains, and thence stretching\nsouthward along the eastern slope of Mexico as far as Orizaba,\nthere exists another form, essentially different, which, by way of\ndistinction, has been popularly called the Mexican Turkey. It is from\nthis species, and not from the other, as has been erroneously supposed\nand taught, that the domestic fowl has been derived. Even in this\nenlightened age, with so many ornithological teachers on every hand, we\nsee this mistake propagated by such as know better, and whose business\nit is, or ought to be, to have a care that truth shall prevail.\n\nBetween the wild bird of Eastern North America and the Mexican and\ntypical barnyard fowls there are differences which must be apparent\neven to the most superficial observer. The extremities of the\ntail-feathers, as well as the feathers overlying the base of the tail,\nare in the latter creamy or fulvous white, while in the former they are\nof a decided chestnut-brown color. Other characteristics exist, but\nthese only become evident to the keen-sighted ornithologist.\n\nThe difficulty experienced in establishing a cross between our wild\nand tame birds, shows that they are not as closely related as was once\nsupposed. Did a near kinship subsist, interbreeding could most readily\nbe accomplished. With the Mexican Turkey, matters are otherwise. That a\nrelationship does obtain between the domestic bird and the latter--its\nwild original--there can be no question, as specimens of the\nnaturalized species are often met with which are nearly the counterpart\nof its Mexican progenitor, differing only in the greater development\nof the fatty appendages of the head and neck, differences which may\nbe accounted for as the effects of the influences to which the birds\nhave been subjected by man. No well-authenticated instances of similar\nreversions to our once familiar Eastern bird have been known to occur,\nwhich would necessarily have been the case had they been so closely\nrelated as was once maintained.\n\n_Meleagris Mexicana_ affects sparsely-overgrown savannas, and occupies\nin Mexico the region of the oaks and the coast--the _tierra caliente_\nof geographers. It is a very wary bird, and lives in families. Insects\nof divers kinds, but chiefly of a coleopterous character, as well as\nthe seeds of grasses, constitute its bill of fare. When searching for\nfood, especially in perilous localities, a sentinel is stationed on the\noutskirts of the flock, whose duty it is to announce the presence of\ndanger. Flight is seldom resorted to at such times, for these birds,\nbeing fleeter of foot than the swiftest dog, are able to escape their\nenemies by running.\n\nToward the close of March, or in the beginning of April, the hens\nseparate from the males, and seek for themselves nesting-places in\nsecluded localities. The nest is anything but an elaborate affair,\nconsisting of a few dry leaves or grasses scratched into a depression\nby the side of a prostrate log. Here the eggs--twelve beautiful, oval,\nspeckled treasures--are laid, and for thirty long, weary days and\nnights they are sat upon by their author in her efforts to warm them\ninto life. When she leaves them, which she does a short time each day\nfor food, she always takes the necessary precaution to cover them\nwith leaves, as a protection against cold and intrusion. Nothing will\ntempt her to quit the nest when the young are about to be hatched. So\nabsorbed does she then become that she has been known to submit to\ncapture rather than endanger the lives of her offspring.\n\nNo human mother manifests deeper affection for her children than does\nthis bird of the prairie for hers. She fondles and dries them after\nthey have escaped from their prison-houses, and tenderly helps them out\nof the nest. It is now that her cares may be said to commence. Where\ntheir interest and well-being are concerned, hardly any responsibility\nis too great for her to assume. She leads them into pleasant pastures,\nteaches them to know good from bad foods, and acquaints them with\nall the devices and subterfuges practised for eluding man and other\nenemies. But it is not long that they are thus subservient to maternal\nwisdom and forethought, for in fourteen days they are old enough to\nscratch for a living, and to seek shelter and security from lawlessness\nand cruelty. Their _menu_ consists of wheat, berries, grasses,\nearth-worms, and all kinds of terrestrial insects.\n\nWhen summer is over, the different families of the same neighborhood\ncome together, unite in one large flock, and travel over the country\nfor food. The males emerge from their meeting-places and join the\nmoving army, and parents and young have nothing to do but to feed\nvigorously and grow fat. Late in October, or early in November, they\nbegin to attract the attention of gunners, and thousands are killed\nfor the market, where they are in eager demand by all lovers of good\nliving.\n\n\n\n\nAMERICAN OSPREY.\n\n\n_Pandion hali\u00e6tus_, as the Fish Hawk or Osprey is called in\nornithological language, is found from the fur region surrounding\nHudson\u2019s Bay to Central America, and from Labrador to Florida,\nexcepting Boston Harbor, on the Atlantic Coast, and almost from Alaska\nto the southern extremity of the peninsula of Lower California on the\nPacific seaboard. Birds have been known to nest on the rocky islands\nof California, and about Sitka, according to Bischoff, as well as\nalong the small streams in the vicinity of Nulato. From Long Island to\nChesapeake they breed in vast communities, which often number several\nhundred pairs, but away from the sea-coast they are only occasionally\nmet with on the margins of rivers and lakes. Dr. Hayden found several\npairs nesting on the summit of high cottonwood trees in the Wind River\nMountains, and Mr. Allen observed the birds particularly abundant\nabout the lakes of the Upper St. John\u2019s River in Florida, six nests\nbeing noticeable within a single circle of vision. Salvin claims that\nthey nest on both coasts of Central America, but more especially about\nBalize, although on the islands of Trinidad, St. Croix, Jamaica and\nCuba they are seen at all times except during the breeding-season.\n\nBelow Philadelphia, and in the south-eastern counties of Pennsylvania\nbordering on the Delaware, individuals have been occasionally observed.\nTheir arrival is about the beginning of March, often when the streams\nwhich they frequent are fettered with icy bonds, and their departure\noccurs about the twenty-fifth of September, and frequently, especially\nwhen the weather is remarkably fine, as late as the fifteenth of\nOctober. Well-established communities, numbering more than fifty pairs,\nhave been met within the swamps of Southern New Jersey, among whom the\nbest order and most perfect harmony prevailed. Few species display\nless shyness and greater confidence, or are more eminently social, as\nis particularly shown when these birds take up their quarters in close\nproximity to occupied dwellings, or by the side of frequented by-paths\nand highways. Where undisturbed, the same localities are visited year\nafter year. Their exclusive piscine habits secure for them free and\nunlimited sway in their carefully chosen abodes, for the poultry has\nnothing to fear, and the smaller birds are not intimidated by their\npresence and sent screaming to their coverts as they do even when\npursued by the little sparrow hawk. Wilson cites a case where four\nnests of the common purple grackle were built within the interstices\nof an Osprey\u2019s nest, and a fifth on an adjoining branch, and the\nOsprey was quite tolerant of such intrusion and freedom. The writer\nhas observed a nest of the grackle built in a similar position, while\nall around the great Hawk\u2019s home, and scarcely five rods distant, were\nnests of the robin, wood thrush, red-winged blackbird and others, and\nno annoyance was known to occur, the Ospreys carefully attending to\ntheir own business and scarcely noticing their more humble brethren.\n\nTheir bitterest enemy is the white-headed eagle, against whom the\nunited attacks of many of these birds are concentrated when he has the\naudacity to venture within their hunting-grounds or breeding-quarters,\nfor they are too familiar with his powerful muscularity and courageous\ndisposition to attempt a single attack. When an Osprey is pursued by\nthis king of the forest and hunting-ground, his loud, vociferous cries\nof distress, resounding far and near, evoke an army of defenders,\nwho come with all possible speed to wreak vengeance upon the great\narch-enemy of their pleasures and happiness. These attacks are made\nfor the purpose of compelling the Osprey to drop his prey or disgorge,\nwhich the superior bird, if his efforts have been successful, pounces\ndown upon and seizes before it has had time to reach the water or\nground.\n\n[Illustration: NEST OF AMERICAN OSPREY.\n\nManner of Securing Food for Young.]\n\nPowerful as the flight of the Fish Hawk is, yet it is never very high,\nnor much protracted. While skimming over the water\u2019s surface, even at a\nmoderate elevation, his quick eye soon descries his quarry, and, in an\ninstant, he pounces down with tremendous force below the water\u2019s level,\noften to a great distance, but seldom missing his prey. Arising from\nhis watery bath, he moves off to a suitable perch to digest his meal at\nleisure. But should the movement attract the keen vision of the bald\neagle, who is generally waiting in some secret covert, or sailing so\nhigh up in the air as to be almost invisible, the Osprey swallows his\nvictim if small, or seeks to bear it away in his talons to a position\nof shelter and safety, but, rather than endure the too near approach of\nhis more powerful relative, drops it to the infinite delight and great\nsatisfaction of the latter. Where a suitable tree, or a commanding\nstump, presents itself by the side of his chosen fishing-grounds, he\nmay be seen perched thereon for hours together, gazing into the liquid\ndepths below for the finny tribes that sport therein, and ever and anon\nswooping down with amazing velocity and bearing up in his resistless\ntalons the squirming victim. In shallow places his mode of capture\nis regulated in conformity with their character, gliding over their\nsurface and clutching at his victims as they come within sight.\n\nThe food of the Osprey consists mainly of fish, although the reptiles\nand batrachians that inhabit the swamps and marshes wherein he builds\ndo not escape his vigilance. Almost all kinds of fish, except the\nvery largest, which would be more than a match for his strength, are\ncaptured and devoured with avidity. We have watched with a great deal\nof interest and pleasure his piscatorial pursuits on the shores of\nDelaware Bay, and have often seen him bear from great depths fish much\nlarger than the common shad. The latter, together with the herring,\nstriped bass and black bass, are favorite articles of diet, while his\ncatchings from fresh-water streams, the larger cyprinidonts, cat-fish\nand pumpkin-seed, are quite as great luxuries.\n\nWhen the nesting-time comes around, the last of April or the beginning\nof May, these birds are not so engrossed with the thoughts of feeding\nas to be utterly oblivious of the duties which it imposes. Generally\nthe same nest is selected year after year, but when a new one is to\nbe constructed it is not uncommon to find many pairs engaged in its\nbuilding, the friends of the destitute assembling and laboring with the\nmost determined energy till its completion. A more sociable disposition\ncould hardly be conceived. The spirit which would lead these birds\nto fly to the assistance of a distressed companion would certainly\ninduce them to co-operate with their brethren in the difficult task of\nnest-building, especially when such a bulky structure as the species\nis known to construct would severely task both the time and patience\nof the pair which is to occupy it. The vast amount of labor and time\nexpended in rearing such a fabric is a sufficient inducement for them\nnot to want to indulge in such employment any more than is absolutely\nnecessary. Hence these nests are constructed for durability. Unlike\nhis European congener, whose nest is placed upon a high cliff, the\nOsprey almost invariably builds on trees. All nests taken by the writer\nhave seldom been at a greater elevation than fifteen feet, although\ninstances have been recorded where they were twice that height. It is a\nremarkable fact that the trees supporting these nests are always dead\nand generally placed in the midst of marshy ground, either completely\nisolated or surrounded by a dense growth of bushes. At all events, they\noccupy rather conspicuous positions. It is probable that the excrement\nof the birds or the saline character of their food has much to do with\nkilling the nesting-trees. Trees which seem vigorous and thrifty at\nfirst manifest after a year\u2019s occupancy unmistakable signs of death.\nNot always are trees selected for nesting purposes, for a Mr. W. H.\nEdwards describes a nest built on a tall cliff on the banks of the\nHudson River, not very far from West Point.\n\nExternally the nest is composed of large sticks piled to a height\nvarying from two to five feet, and measuring fully three feet in\ndiameter. Corn-stalks, mullein-stocks and bark are occasionally\nintermingled with the sticks, but within there is a rather profuse\nlining of sea-weed and the long grasses which grow so luxuriantly in\nsalt-water marshes. The cavity ranges from fourteen to fifteen inches\nin diameter, and is unusually shallow in proportion to the size of the\nnest.\n\nThree eggs constitute the usual nest-complement, although two\nare sometimes laid, and rarely four, and these are deposited\non consecutive or alternate days, at the rate of one egg a day.\nThey measure about two and one-half inches in length and one and\nthree-fourths in width, and are of a yellowish-white color, thickly\ncovered with large blotches of different shades of brown. Incubation\nfollows close upon the last deposit, the task being begun by the\nfemale, and devolving principally upon her, although the male\noccasionally relieves her for a brief spell each day. While she is\non the nest, he is a jealous husband and a most faithful provider.\nThe choicest catch of his piscatorial exploits is carried directly to\nthe nest and ungrudgingly administered to the patient sitter. When\nnot engaged in providing for their wants he stations himself upon an\nadjoining tree, if such should happen to be present, or somewhere in\nthe immediate neighborhood, and exercises the closest surveillance over\nthe nest and its occupant. All attempts at intrusion are most summarily\npunished. Dr. Brewer mentions a case where a lad essayed to reach the\nnest in order to rob it of its eggs, when he was assailed with so much\nviolence that the male\u2019s talons were driven through a cloth cap that he\nwore and laid bare the scalp. Experience has proved the risk incurred\nin visiting these nests with hostile intentions. You may pass and\nrepass underneath the nest, the authors criticising your every movement\nthe while, without calling forth the slightest opposition. When,\nhowever, you attempt to mount the tree that contains their cherished\ntreasures, you virtually invite the full measure of their wrath. That\nthe male is affectionately devoted to his partner is shown by Wilson in\na case which he cites of a female who was prevented from fishing by a\nbroken leg and that was abundantly supplied with food by her mate.\n\nWhen the young appear they are objects of more than common parental\nsolicitude, the parents vying with each other in rendering them every\nneeded attention and in providing them with a plentiful supply of\nsuitable food. But one parent is absent from the nest at a time, the\nother remaining at home to guard against danger. They are ravenous\nfeeders, and soon attain to full development, when they resemble\nvery closely in dress their parents, having the upper parts spotted\nwith pale reddish-brown or white. Adult birds are dark-brown or\ngrayish-brown above, with most of the head, neck and under parts white,\nthe chest in the female, and sometimes in the male, being spotted with\nbrown. The tail, usually paler than the back, has six or seven dusky\nbars, and is tipped with white.\n\nThat these birds may be fitted for powerful flight they are provided\nwith long and pointed wings, the second and third quills being the\nlongest. They have a stout bill, with a very long hook and sharp end.\nTheir feathers are oily to resist water, those of the head being\nlengthened and pointed, and of the thighs and a little of the front\nparts of the tarsi short and close together. The legs, tarsi and feet\nare very strong and robust, and the claws all of the same length and\nvery large and sharp. Rough scales completely invest the tarsi, and\nthe toes are padded below and covered with numerous hard-pointed\nprojections to aid in holding their slippery prey. The iris in some\nspecimens is reddish, but mostly yellow; the bill and claws blue-black,\nand the tarsi and toes grayish-blue. Male birds are not so large as the\nfemales, the latter measuring twenty-five inches in length, and with an\nextent of wings of fifty-two inches.\n\n\n\n\nTURKEY BUZZARD.\n\n\nFew species, if any, have a wider distribution in America than the\nTurkey Buzzard. It is found more or less abundantly to the Saskatchewan\nthroughout North America, from the Atlantic to the Pacific Coast,\nand in all portions of South America as far south as the Strait of\nMagellan. Individuals have been met with in Nova Scotia and New\nBrunswick, though these birds are generally not common north of Central\nNew Jersey. From Eastern Maine, in the neighborhood of Calais, to\nConnecticut, specimens have occasionally been captured. In a single\ninstance, Mr. Lawrence observed a small company of nine at Rockaway,\nLong Island. West of the Alleghenies, from Central America nearly to\nthe Arctic regions, it occurs more abundantly. Without exception, it is\nfound in greater or less numbers in all the Middle, Western, Southern\nand North-western States. From Lower California to Washington, along\nthe Pacific, numerous parties attest to its common occurrence. The West\nIndies, the islands of Cuba, Jamaica and Trinidad, the last-named in\nparticular, include it within their faun\u00e6. Honduras and Guatemala, as\nwell as the Falkland Islands, off the eastern coast of Patagonia, are\npermanent residing-places.\n\nIn Pennsylvania and New Jersey, where the writer has had abundant\nopportunities for studying the species, these Vultures summer quite\nplentifully. From their first appearance, in March, large numbers\nmay be seen high up in the air, moving in large circles, apparently\nexploring the ground below for their favorite articles of food. In\nrural districts they are, however, more frequently observed than\nin the vicinity of densely-populated towns, the greater abundance\nof carrion to be met with in the former places doubtless being the\ncause of this preference. But in California and Oregon, according to\nDr. Newberry, they are quite as common near towns as about the large\nrivers. In our Southern States they visit cities and large villages,\nand play the part of scavengers in company with the black vulture. They\nare said to be so tame and unsuspicious in Kingston, Jamaica, that they\nroost upon the house-tops or prey upon offal in the streets. In country\nplaces they are no less familiar and trustful, as is evidenced while\nfeeding. So intent upon their business are they at this time that the\npresence of human beings is unnoticed, and even when forced to forsake\ntheir booty they sullenly repair to a short distance, only to resume\ntheir feeding when the annoyance has passed. The common crow has been\nobserved to gather around the same food, and the utmost good-feeling\nprevailed. A small flock will often settle down upon a dead horse\naround which several dogs have gathered. The snapping and snarling\nof the dogs, when they approach them too closely, do not cause the\nVultures to retire, but only to step a few paces aside, when, nothing\ndaunted, they continue their feeding, apparently oblivious of their\nwhereabouts and surroundings.\n\nAlthough the sense of sight is rather keenly developed in these birds,\nyet that of smell is none the less so. This is an advantage, for both\nthe visual and olfactory organs seem requisite in the determination of\nthe presence of decaying animal matters. As a proof that smell leads\nto food-detection, Dr. Brewer cites an instance, on the authority of\nDr. Hill, where several of these birds were attracted to the house of a\nGerman emigrant who was prostrated by fever, being drawn by the strong\nodor escaping from his neglected food which had become putrid. Mr. G.\nC. Taylor, whilst a resident of Kingston, sufficiently tested their\npower of smell. He wrapped the carcass of a bird in a piece of paper,\nand flung the parcel into the summit of a densely-leaved tree, that\nstood in close proximity to his window. A moment or two only elapsed,\nwhen the keen smell of these birds scented something edible, but they\nwere unable to find it, obviously for the reason that it was hidden\nfrom view by the enveloping paper.\n\nGenerally their food consists of all kinds of animal matter. They are\noften accused of sucking eggs, and also of eating the young of herons,\nas well as those of other birds. In Trinidad, they are said to live\non friendly terms with the poultry. As no breach of faith has been\nreported to have occurred in this instance, it is not likely that\nthey would molest in any way our smaller birds, at least we are not\ncognizant of any such cases of interference from our own observation,\nnor do we find them in the recorded experiences of friends. They\nare worse-disposed, it seems to us, to their own kith. When several\nare feeding together, most violent wrangles occur over the booty.\nEach strives to get the lion\u2019s share. It is amusing to witness their\nman\u0153uvres. Some luckless fellow has just discovered a choice and racy\nbit, which he is endeavoring to make off with in a somewhat hurried\nmanner, when instantly he is beset by a near companion, who has\nscarcely swallowed his own morsel. A conflict ensues. The latter, being\nthe stronger, succeeds after a little in defrauding the other of his\nrightful property. When gorged, these birds are stupid and indisposed\nto exertion, the period of digestion ordinarily being passed in a\nmotionless, listless attitude, with half-opened wings.\n\nRecovered from their semi-stupid condition, they do not at once go to\nfeeding again, but spend a long time in the healthful exercise of their\nvolant appendages. Few birds are more graceful, easy and dignified\nwhile on the wing. On the ground they may seem awkward, but it is\nwhile soaring at a great height above the earth that they are seen in\nall their glory. When prepared for lofty flights, they spring from\nthe ground with a single bound, and, after a few quick flappings of\nwings, move heavenward. Attaining a great elevation, they cleave the\nether in ever-widening circles, or sail on nearly horizontal wings, the\ntips being slightly raised, with steady, uniform motion. These aerial\ndiversions, for such they seem to be, are never performed singly, but\nin small parties of a dozen or more, being more common in early spring,\nand at the close of the breeding-season, than at any other time. It is\nto be observed further that these movements are executed in silence,\nthe only sounds which the Buzzards are capable of producing being a\nkind of hiss, which has not inaptly been compared to the seething noise\nemitted by plunging a hot iron in a vessel of water.\n\nWhen ready to breed these birds look about for a hollow tree, or some\nstump or log in a state of decay, either upon the ground, or slightly\nabove it. Generally, there are no indications of a nest. In occasional\ninstances a few rotten leaves, scratched into the hollow selected for\nthe deposition of the eggs, constitute the nest, these treasures being\nlaid without any previous care for their preservation and shelter\nbeing taken. In Southern New Jersey the nest has been inadvertently\nstrayed upon in the midst of a deep and almost impenetrable morass,\nwhere it was found placed upon a hollow stump. Within the rocky\ncaverns along the wide, shallow Susquehanna, as many as a dozen nests\nhave been counted in a few hundred yards of space, often as early as\nthe last week of March in favorable seasons, but generally not till\nthe middle of April. When the winters are not extremely rigorous, a\nfew individuals remain in the vicinity of their breeding-quarters\nthroughout the entire year. We have found the birds breeding in\nDelaware County, Pa., towards the latter part of April or the beginning\nof May, but in Philadelphia they rarely do, if they breed at all. In\nSouthern Ohio they are a common summer sojourner. Speaking of the birds\nin Jamaica, Mr. Gosse says they nest in depressions in the rocks and in\nthe ledges thereof, in retired localities and also upon inaccessible\ncliffs. On Galveston Island Audubon found the birds nesting in great\nnumbers, either under wide-spreading cactus branches or underneath low\nbushes in the midst of tall grasses in level saline marshes.\n\nIn the vicinity of Cheraw, S. C., Dr. C. Kollock met with the black\nvulture and our present species in swamps and dense forests, where they\ncongregate in vast numbers throughout the entire year. These places\nare commonly designated Buzzards\u2019 roosts. Audubon once visited one of\nthese roosts in the vicinity of Charleston, which covered more than two\nacres of ground, and which was completely denuded of vegetation. On the\nbanks of many of the rivers of Southern Texas, Mr. Dresser found them\nnesting in large numbers, the timber along their borders constituting\ncomfortable and secure shelter; but, contrary to what has always been\nentertained, he affirms that they build large and bulky nests of\nsticks, which they place at great heights in an oak or cypress, close\nby the river-banks. Captain C. C. Abbott says that in the Falkland\nIslands the eggs are deposited in the midst of bushes beneath high\nbanks, or on the summits of decayed balsam logs, during the early\npart of November. In certain localities, where the birds are not very\ncommon, paired individuals are not infrequently found.\n\nTwo eggs generally constitute a nest-full, although instances are known\nwhere but a single egg was deposited. On the Falkland Islands they\nare said to lay three occasionally. In the West Indies, especially\nin the Bahamas, the complement is the same as in the United States,\nand there does not seem to be any difference in the habits of the\nbirds in the two places. Specimens from New Jersey, Texas, Florida\nand South Carolina are creamy-white in ground, and are variously\nmarked with shades of brown, intermingled with splashes of lavender\nand purple, which are often so faint as to be perceptible only upon\nclose examination. Brewer mentions a variety from near Cheraw, S. C.,\nthat was nearly pure white, and which showed but a few small red and\nslightly purplish lines and dots about the larger extremity. Recently\nwe have met with some from Texas answering the same description. In\ndimensions these eggs vary but little, and have, on the average, a\nlength of 2.78 inches, and a width of 2.00, or rather less.\n\n_Cathartes aura_, as the Turkey Buzzard is known by the scientific\nnaturalist, is far from being demonstrative in the expression of her\nfeelings. When her home is assailed, she makes no ado, but quietly\nslips out, and seemingly contemplates its desecration with indifference.\n\nThough manifesting a passive disposition in the face of human\ninterference, yet she is not always the gentle being she would have us\nbelieve, as shown by the spirit of dominancy she displays over her own\nhousehold.\n\nUnlike many of her neighbors, she does not entirely assume the\nresponsibilities of brood-raising, permitting her partner the happy\nenjoyment of a life of luxurious ease, but, believing in the doctrine\nof a proper division of labor, forces upon him his share of the work.\n\nWhilst she thus appears unduly exacting towards him, she is equally so\nto her offspring. Few mothers know better than she the right training\nof their children, so as to fit them to become useful and respectable\nmembers of society.\n\nThis is no figment of the imagination, as will presently be seen. It\nwas while exploring a section of Delaware County of this State for\nminerals in the summer of 1894 that some interesting facts were learned\nof the relation subsisting between her and the rest of her family.\n\nHaving accidentally strayed upon a young ground hog which had but\nrecently been killed, the writer resolved to carry it home and place\nit where it could be seen or scented by the Buzzards, so that he might\nhave an opportunity of making a more intimate acquaintance with these\nbirds than he had ever before been able to make.\n\nAccordingly the dead animal was transported to a meadow overlooked by\nthe house he was occupying. The resolution was well taken, for on the\nfourth day after the deposit had been made several Buzzards were seen\ncircling high overhead, mere specks against the blue dome of the sky,\nevidently scanning the earth beneath with their telescopic vision for\nthe presence of food, or endeavoring to scent it with their keen sense\nof smell.\n\nNearer and nearer the flock drew earthward, till finally, a full\nhour being spent in graceful man\u0153uvring, the birds settled down upon\nthe green-carpeted meadow, but a few yards from the carrion that lay\nfestering with vermin.\n\nTheir feathers adjusted, and folded to rest their wide-spreading\npinions, the young, in obedience to orders, as it seemed, leaped on\nto a huge pine log that lay near by, while the old folks surveyed,\nwistfully and long, from their standpoint of observation on the ground,\nthe odorous carrion a few feet away, as if whetting their appetites for\nthe feast they were soon to enjoy.\n\nWith a few quick steps, that were meant to be graceful, the female\ndrew near, but the male lingered doubtingly behind. In a trice she was\nbusy at work, tearing with claw and with bill the daintiest morsels.\nRendered mad by the smell of the food the male, no longer seeming\nbackward, pressed forward to her side, but only to retreat before her\nsavage assaults. Again he essayed the attempt, and was beaten back as\nhe had been before. Convinced that further effort would be useless,\nhe strode sulkily to a distance, where, in moody contemplation, he\nnervously awaited her ladyship\u2019s sweet pleasure.\n\nBeing filled to the full the female now moved lazily away to a clean\npatch of grass, where she immediately set to work to arranging her\ntoilet,--wiping her bill and her claws upon the green carpet before\nher, craning her neck and stretching her pinions, yawning and gaping\nand gaping and yawning,--and finally ending all by seeking the topmost\nrail of a near-by fence for rest and composure.\n\nWith nothing to fear, the male now stalked complacently forward, and\nwas soon hard at work at what was left of the carcass. His appetite\nless capacious than that of his lady, his dinner was soon over, and\noff strode he too to a fresh spot of grass, where he went through the\nsame process of wiping his mouth and stretching and yawning, which,\nbeing finished, he mounted the rail by the side of his mistress.\n\n[Illustration: FEMALE TURKEY BUZZARD DINING.\n\nMale and Young Awaiting Her Ladyship\u2019s Pleasure.]\n\nMore interesting far than either the parents were the three black\ncreatures that stood upon the pine log. Fixed to the spot as though\nthey had grown there, with scarcely moving heads and downcast eyes they\neagerly watched the food disappearing, wondering, mayhap, as children\nare prone to do, if it would all disappear before they had a chance of\ntesting its virtues, but maintaining their souls the while in perfect\nserenity of repose. But their time had at length arrived, and down from\nthe log they cast themselves _instanter_, three lusty fellows as large\nas the parents, but one of them, from his limping gait, proving to be\nlame. Great consideration was shown the disabled one by the others,\nwho permitted him to feed first, while they stood aside until he had\nsatisfied his hunger, when, without the least bit of ceremony, or the\nleast indication of ill-nature or selfishness, they too set to work,\nfinishing in quick order whatever edible was left of the dead animal.\nTheir actions after feeding were exactly the counterpart of those of\nthe parents. Having finished their toilet, the three sought the rail\nby the side of the father, where, like their illustrious heads, they\nwere soon occupied with the most self-satisfying thoughts, utterly\noblivious, as it seemed, of time and surroundings.\n\nMore than an hour was thus spent in drowsy meditation, when, as by\ncommon consent, they all, one after the other, leaped to the ground,\nwhere they busied themselves preening their feathers and preparing\nfor departure. The time being ripe, the female set the example. With\na run of a half-dozen yards to gain a good start, she was soon on the\nwing, and in fifteen minutes or more was lost in the ether. The male\nfollowed suit, and when he had vanished from sight, the young, one\nafter another, mounted the atmosphere, and gradually circling their way\nthrough its limitless depths, were also soon lost to the earth-chained\nbeholder.\n\nConcluding this brief chapter of bird-history, we have a few brief\ncomments to make. To the uninitiated in science matters, the\nstatements just made must seem well nigh incredible. But there were\nother witnesses of the facts, just and reliable observers, too,\nwhose testimony could be appealed to, to settle all doubts of their\nauthenticity. From all that has been said, it cannot but be evident\nthat the female was the acknowledged head of the family, a sort of\nfeathered autocrat, whose will was the law by which the family was\ngoverned. Even the male, who did not always respect her authority,\nespecially where her interests conflicted with his own, was made to\nsee that might makes right when confronted with her stronger and\nmore powerful nature. But it was the patience and orderly behavior\nthat characterized the nearly-grown young, and their sweetness and\ngentleness of disposition under the most trying circumstances as well,\nthat impressed us as extremely wonderful, and led to the opinion that\nman-born offspring might here learn a lesson of filial obedience and\nrespect that would greatly redound to the honor and glory of the race.\n\nWhen captured, these birds offer no active resistance, but very\neffectually warn off their aggressor by vomiting up the half-putrid\ncontents of their crop. They will often simulate death at such times.\nOn one occasion an individual having been shot by Dr. Coues was picked\nup for dead. While being carried to the Doctor\u2019s tent, it was perfectly\nlimp. On reaching his quarters, he carelessly threw it upon the ground,\nand went to work at something else. After a little, upon looking\naround, he beheld to his great surprise that the bird had changed\nposition, and was furtively glancing around. On going up to it, its\neyes instantly closed, its body became relaxed, and it lay perfectly\nmotionless, and apparently lifeless. After compressing its chest for\nseveral minutes until he fancied life extinct, he dropped the bird and\nrepaired to supper. Upon his return the bird was gone, it evidently\nhaving scrambled into the bushes as soon as he had turned his back upon\nit.\n\nThe young, when first hatched, are covered with a whitish down, and are\nfed upon half-digested matter which is disgorged by their parents. When\ntaken from the nest and kept in captivity until fully grown they become\nexceedingly tame, and will feed on fresh meat, earthworms, crickets,\ngrasshoppers, and other large insects, which they apparently relish,\nand oftentimes will also eat bits of bread, cake and particles of\napples or pears which are thrown before them. The benefits which these\nscavengers render are too well known to need any comment. In the mature\nstate the plumage of the Buzzard is brownish-black, and more or less\nglossy, the quills being paler on the under surface. The skin of the\nhead and neck is red and wrinkled, and with scattering bristle-like\nfeathers, the bill whitish, legs and feet pinkish, iris grayish-brown,\nand nostrils large and oval. Their length is about thirty inches,\nextent of wing seventy-two inches, wing being about twenty-five, and\ntail twelve.\n\n\n\n\nRARE AND CURIOUS NESTS.\n\n\nFrom time immemorial it has been the current popular belief that\nbirds of the same species never varied their style of architecture,\nbut constructed the same form of nest, and out of the same materials,\nas their remotest progenitors did, instinct being the principle by\nwhich they were guided. This opinion, though long since exploded by\nscientific research, is still, I am sorry to say, entertained by\npersons who should know better. An examination of nests from different\nand widely-separated localities affords evidence of the most convincing\ncharacter of its erroneousness. Most marked differences will always be\nfound to exist in composing materials, as these are sure to vary with\nenvironment, and in a wider degree in the nests of some than in those\nof other species; even configuration, which is less prone to change, is\noften influenced by circumstances of position and latitude.\n\nAmong the Thrushes, the nest of the Robin is the most addicted to\nvariation, and this is not wholly restricted to the constituents of\nits usually mud-plastered domicile, but is quite frequently observed\nto occur in the arrangement of materials, and in contour and position\nas well. Where low marshy woods abound on the outskirts of towns and\nvillages, as is the case in Southern New Jersey, nests of this species\nhave been taken that contrasted in a most wonderful manner with those\none is accustomed to see in more northern localities. The great masses\nof grayish-green fibrous lichen, which depend from shrub and tree in\nsylvan marshes, are most freely used, and from its very nature to mat\nwhen pressed together all necessity for mud is precluded.\n\n[Illustration: NEST OF THE ROBIN.\n\nBuilt Upon a Railroad Cutting.]\n\nBut the most curious nest I have ever met with was built upon a\nrailroad cutting, where the ground had a slope of more than forty-five\ndegrees. Such a position for a dwelling of the kind the Robin is known\nto build, to one not conversant with the facts, must appear incredible.\nBut that it was accomplished, the nest itself was the monument of the\nbuilders\u2019 thoughtful skill and labor. A semicircular wall of mud,\neight inches in diameter and five inches in height, constituted the\ngroundwork, and within the cavity thus formed was reared a coarse,\nsubstantial, bulky fabric, that was entirely composed of the stems of\ngrasses, leaves and roots, loaded down and held in place by pellets of\nmud.\n\n[Illustration: Copyright 1900 by A. R. Dugmore.\n\nNEST FROM THE TOP.\n\nSECTION OF TWO-STORIED NEST.\n\nRED-EYED VIREO\u2019S TWO-STORIED NEST WITH COW-BIRD\u2019S EGG BENEATH]\n\nA more remarkable position, and one that seemed as difficult to manage,\nI shall now relate. Few birds care so little for position as the common\nHouse Wren. Almost any place answers its purpose. Near the little town\nof Thornbury, in the State of Pennsylvania, a pair of these birds, in\nthe summer of 1882, took possession of a derrick, and, as a site for a\nhome, selected the space over a sheave in one of the stationary blocks,\nwhere, in due time, was deposited their rude, yet comfortable, nest of\nsticks and feathers. A similar structure occupied the spot the previous\nyear, and a brood of eight birds was raised. It was not the elements\nof composition of these nests that excited interest and surprise, for\nthey are not materially different from the usual form, but the strange,\nanomalous situation which they occupied. So dexterously were the\nmaterials arranged within the space that the revolution of the wheel\nwas not in the least interfered with. The nest was approached on the\nside facing the rope that moved the pulley. The opposite side could\nhave been used for this purpose, and doubtless with less danger to life\nor limb, but preference seemed to be shown for the other. Why this was\nso was for some time a mystery. But when the birds were seen to alight\nupon the rope at the top of the derrick and ride down to the nest, the\nexplanation at once became apparent.\n\nNever did linnet enjoy the rocking twig, or bobolink the swaying\ncat-tail, with half the zest than did these eccentric creatures their\nride down the rope. A hundred times a day, when necessity arose, they\ntreated themselves to the pleasure, the rope all the while moving at\nthe rate of thirty feet in a second. Six of the seven days, from early\nmorn till night, they availed themselves of this strange conveyance,\nand never a danger occurred to mar their delight. In due time a family\nof happy, rollicking children was raised, and the nest on the derrick\ndeserted.\n\nMore beautiful are the nests which the Red-winged Blackbirds build.\nThese are the birds that affect our swamps and marshes, and make the\nair ring with their loud, clear, resonant notes. Before me is a nest\nthat surpasses in beauty the average structure. It is a bulky affair\nfor the species, but so symmetrical in contour, and so quaintly,\ndeftly woven, that the eye never tires in looking at it, nor the mind\nin contemplating its wonderful mechanism. Broad ribbons of grasses are\nits composing materials, and eight of them are so woven into the nest\nas to securely fasten it to the tall typhas in the summit of which it\nwas placed.\n\n[Illustration: RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD\u2019S NEST.\n\nLocated in a Field of Timothy.]\n\nBut a more clever nest of these birds, and one that is as unique in\nshape as it is in texture and composition, was found in the summer\nof 1879 in the vicinity of Philadelphia. It was built in a field of\ntimothy, many of the stalks of which being wrought into the fabric. Its\nshape is that of an inverted cone, and so beautifully, symmetrically\nand compactly put together is it, that one could hardly credit the\nbuilders with the possession of the skill necessary to the production\nof so perfect a domicile. Externally the nest is formed of grasses\nand rushes, neatly and intricately interwoven, with here and there a\nhead of the dry pappus of some species of hawkweed. Sedges and fine\ngrasses make for it a cosy and comfortable lining. This nest shows\nquite conspicuously in the drawing, but in its natural position, in the\ncentre of a large field, the authors had spared no pains to have its\nconcealment as perfect as possible.\n\nTypical nests of these Blackbirds are somewhat irregular in outline,\nand rather coarsely and rudely built of stubble and broad grasses,\nvariously intermingled, and lined with soft meadow grass. Usually\nthey are placed in clusters of weeds or in the tops of small bushes\nalongside of streams of water. High positions are seldom chosen for\nnesting purposes, as they offer poor facilities for food-collecting,\nthe aquatic larv\u00e6, may-flies, dragon-flies and mosquitos, which\nconstitute a prominent part of the diet of these birds, being only\nfound in marshy situations. Small bushes along the margins of streams,\nfrom the double advantage which they possess, are almost exclusively\nadopted in certain localities. Being convenient to appropriate\nfood-stuffs, they are, at the same time, out of the reach of snakes,\nespecially water-snakes, which have a decided fondness for young birds.\n\nOf the sub-family of Orioles, to which the Red-wing belongs, no member,\nunless it be the namesake of Maryland\u2019s distinguished proprietor,\nbuilds a more magnificent nest than the one that inhabits the orchard.\nIn the books it is known by the no means euphonious title of _Icterus\nspurius_. Its nest is shaped like a pouch, and generally pensile. Soft,\nflexible meadow grasses, neatly and compactly woven together, make up\nthe outer fabric, while within is a lining of vegetal or animal wool,\nor one of fine grasses intermingled with horse-hair. But the handsomest\never seen was one that was found in the vicinity of Nazareth, Pa., by\nRichard Christ, in the summer of 1883. It is of the usual size, five\ninches in height, three in external diameter, but differing from the\nnormal form only in materials of composition. The proverbial meadow\ngrasses are absent, and in lieu thereof are the headed stems of such as\ngrow by the roadside, notably conspicuous for their golden brightness\nin a state of desiccation.\n\n[Illustration: DOUBLE NEST OF ORCHARD ORIOLE.\n\nFemale Sitting, Male Standing Guard.]\n\nMore noteworthy, however, than the Nazareth nest, is one that was\nremoved from a silver maple-tree. It is a double structure, composed\nof long, flexible grasses, and is firmly bound by the same to several\nsmall, slender branches. The larger nest, inversely sub-conical, is\njoined to the smaller, somewhat similarly shaped, but less compact in\nstructure, by ribbons of the same kind of grass that composes the nest.\nA circular opening, one inch in diameter, is a noticeable feature of\nthe smaller. That the additional structure served some useful purpose\nthere can be no doubt. I am inclined to believe that it was built for\nthe accommodation of either parent while the other was sitting. The\naperture was a convenient outlook for the non-sitting bird, who, from\nthis position, could with little difficulty, like a sentinel from an\noutpost, detect the approach of an enemy.\n\nBut nothing can exceed in beauty and skill the nest of a female\nBaltimore Oriole in the writer\u2019s possession. It was built under\npeculiar circumstances, the builder being a prisoner, having been\ntaken from home when quite a fledgling. A male companion was brought\naway at the same time. These birds, the property of Dr. Detwiler, of\nEaston, Pa., in 1883, were a source of considerable pleasure to that\nelderly gentleman in his leisure moments. Under his careful, kindly\nmanagement, they became quite tame, the female manifesting greater\nfamiliarity than the male. That either would become so accustomed to\nconfinement as to evince a desire to build never entered the mind of\nthe Doctor. They had, when he was alone, the freedom of his studio. One\nlovely June morning, the outside world brimming over with life and joy\nand sunshine, the door of their cage was thrown open, and the Doctor\nsettled himself into a soft easy-chair to read. Hardly had he scanned a\ndozen lines, when something pulling at his hair caused him to drop his\npaper and look around. He was not slow to detect the offender in the\nperson of his female feathered friend who was seen flying towards the\nmost distant corner of the room with something, resembling hair, in her\nbill. The reading was resumed, and again the culprit stole cautiously\nto where he was sitting, and, seizing another hair, was off in a\ntwinkling.\n\n[Illustration: FEMALE BALTIMORE ORIOLE.\n\nNest the Exclusive Work of Her Bill.]\n\nPermitting for a while these liberties, and noticing that bits of\nstrings were, when placed in positions to be seen, quite as much the\nobjects of interest as the hairs of his head, the Doctor was not\nslow in divining the motive which led to this strange and unexpected\nbehavior. Convinced by actions, as significant as words themselves\ncould be, that his little friend was desirous to build a home, he\nbegan to cast about for a corner where she could be free to carry out\nher intentions without fear or interference. The attic furnished the\nplace, and after fitting it up with a large tree-branch for a perch,\nand plenty of new white strings for building purposes, he bore his\nfavorite and her partner to their new quarters. Soon the female became\nat home and entered into her voluntarily-imposed labor with alacrity,\nand at the end of a week had constructed a domicile which her untamed\nprototypes of field and roadside would strive in vain to excel. But\nthe male would have nothing at all to do with the matter, but remained\nthe same cold, indifferent being as I found him to be upon my first\nintroduction.\n\nSome nests are curious on account of shape. The birds often, it would\nseem, try their very best to see how oddly they can build their homes.\nThe little Acadian Flycatcher, so common in Eastern Pennsylvania during\nthe breeding-season, sometimes appears to be controlled by cranky ideas\nwith regard to building. Dry blossoms of the hickory are the materials\nit ordinarily uses, and they can always be obtained whenever needed,\nbut in a nest discovered by the writer in 1882, not a blossom was to\nbe found, but in place of them there were long, stringy fibres of the\ninner bark of some species of herbaceous plant, which the birds had\nmodelled into a compactly-built, shallow, saucer-like cavity, and from\nwhich they had caused to depend a gradually tapering train of the same\nfor nearly nine inches.\n\n[Illustration: ACADIAN FLYCATCHERS.\n\nNest Curious on Account of Its Train.]\n\nThe King Bird, a distant relative of the Flycatcher, often displays as\nmuch eccentricity. Once upon a time a pair of King Birds took a fancy\nto an old apple-tree that stood within a few yards of my Germantown\nhome. It was certainly not a place of quiet and retirement, for scores\nof noisy, dirty children daily resorted to its leafy shelter for\ncoolness and pastime. But the birds were not the least disquieted.\nThey had fixed their minds upon the spot, and build they did. The\nnest was posed between a forked branch, just out of the reach of the\nurchins. It was a crazy affair. Black, slender roots, wrinkled and\nknotted and tendrilled, made up the body of the fabric. As it was\nnearing completion, the opportune discovery of a bunch of carpet rags\nwas hailed with delight. They were instantly appropriated, and promptly\nadjusted to the outside, but in such a manner that long ends, some\nfourteen inches in length, were made to project from the sides and\nbottom. Whether all this was for ornament or protection, or for both,\nI could not say, but I am inclined to think that safety was uppermost\nin the minds of the builders, for, looking from below at the nest it\nseemed but a mass of rags that had been thrown into a tree-crotch,\nwhich, the birds perceiving, and its close resemblance to an entangled\nbunch, had utilized.\n\n[Illustration: Copyright 1900 by A. R. DUGMORE.\n\nLONG BILLED MARSH WREN\u2019S NEST.]\n\nCertainly no more beautiful nests in shape exist than the spherical\nin form. The Long-billed Marsh Wren builds a nest of this type. Upon\nits arrival in the spring it seeks the inland swamps, or the brackish\nmarshes of the sea-shore, where, amid the splatterdocks of the former\nand reeds of the latter, it finds suitable shelter and protection.\nThere, day in and day out, during its entire summer stay, it pursues\nthe even tenor of its life, happy and contented, never caring, like\nmany of its remoter kin, for the charmed circle of man. Active,\nenergetic and buoyant with hope, it skips about the tall rank herbage,\nin every direction, in quest of insects, making its presence known\nand felt by the lively chattering song, which resembles more nearly\nthe sounds of an insect than those of a bird, which emanates from\nits grassy haunts. As these birds reach their breeding-grounds early\nin May, nest-building is soon begun, but so secret and mysterious\nare their movements at first, that we hardly know anything of their\npresence, except when they are colonized for the summer. The labor of\nbuilding is entered into with considerable alacrity, and is mainly the\nresult of the combined labor of both birds. Their nests are usually\nplaced in low bushes, a few feet above the ground, or woven into the\ntops of sedges out of the reach of ordinary tides; but in very rare\ninstances upon the ground in the midst of a clump of grasses. Ground\nnests are loosely-constructed affairs, which is not the case with\nthose that are elevated to the tops of tussocks, or to the branches of\nshrubs and trees, which require more compactness and a better finish.\nThe most beautiful, as well as artistic, nest which I have ever seen\nis the one shown in the cut. This nest was discovered in the vicinity\nof Philadelphia in the summer of 1878. A willow-branch, some fifteen\nfeet above the ground, which was bifurcated, was made to do service.\nNo ordinary skill was that which surmounted the seemingly insuperable\ndifficulty of building a nest, not pensile in character, to such a\nswaying branch. That the birds accomplished the feat the nest itself\nwas the evidence. In form this nest was nearly globular, four and a\nhalf and five inches in the two diameters. It was woven of the broad\nleaves of a species of scirpus, closely and evenly, and had its\ninterstices well seamed with brownish cottony down. A thin delicate\ncurtain of gauze, of the same material, hung around the opening, and\nthis was continued within, forming a thick bedding of the softest,\nfluffiest nature, of which the most voluptuous sybarite might envy its\nfortunate possessor.\n\n[Illustration: LONG-BILLED MARSH WRENS.\n\nNest Placed Out of the Reach of Tides.]\n\nBut the little Golden-crowned Kinglet, a mere mite of flesh and\nfeathers, but with a great deal of spirit, builds a much handsomer\nnest. It is the perfection of symmetry. Man could not make with all\nthe appliances at his command any thing more nearly globular. But its\nbeauty! It looks like a ball of green moss, the delicate patches of\nmoss being so artfully arranged as to completely hide the dry stems of\ngrasses that constitute the walls. No moss ever spread itself over the\nground, or over a stump or tree-trunk, more evenly. When it is known\nthat this Kinglet builds its nest among the slender feathered branches\nof the hemlock spruce, there is manifestly a reason for the fern-like\ntracery upon the exterior, so necessary for the preservation of its\nhome. Such a handsome and imposing structure would be far from complete\nwere the inside not in keeping with the outside. But the birds have\nleft nothing to be desired in this particular. The softest and purest\nof down lines the little bed-chamber, and even swells in its lightness\ntill ready to overflow the neat circular door-way.\n\n[Illustration: GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS.\n\nNest the Perfection of Beauty and Symmetry.]\n\nPerhaps the most graceful thing you may ever expect to find when on the\nquest, fitted to be considered the work of the fairies, is the pretty\nlace hammock of the Parula Warbler. You must search for it early in\nJune, in remote but thin woods, but never far from running water. Often\nyou will see it upon a branch overhanging a stream. The slender twig\nof a birch is sometimes chosen for its suspension, the terminal spray\nof a hemlock spruce, or a horizontal branch of a white oak. Like a\nwatch-pocket, with the opening in the side, it is lightly suspended.\nIt is made of a delicate lace-work, the grayish-green usnea moss, that\ngrows on old trees. The whole fabric is the work of two little birds\nwith slate-blue backs and yellow breasts. No other bird of our fauna\nbuilds a nest akin to its swinging, eery nest. It is true much of the\nmaterial is found in position when the builders commence their labor,\nbut the exquisite outline and finish, as well as the cozy interior,\nare due to the skill of the birds themselves. Even when the structure\nis just so far completed that occupancy by the female is possible, the\nmale never wearies of its adornment by additional filaments of usnea\nbrought from a distance. He is the happiest of fellows, for his little\nbeak always finds something to do while his patient wife is busy with\nthe duties that lead to maternity.\n\n[Illustration: LACE HAMMOCK OF PARULA WARBLER.\n\nFemale Entering Nest and Male Adding to Its Adornments.]\n\nComing like whirling leaves, half autumn yellow, half green of spring,\ntheir colors blending like the outer petals of grass-green daffodils,\nno more sociable and confiding little creatures are to be found in our\nmidst than the Yellow Warblers. They are as much at home in the trees\nby the house as in the fields and woods. Wherever they wander, the\nglints of sunshine that flash from their backs should make the most\nmiserable complainer feel the summer\u2019s charm. But in spite of their\nseeming preference for man, they are prone to build in lonely fields\nand by-ways. In such places it becomes one of the especial victims\nwhich the Cow Bird selects to foster its random eggs. But the Warbler\nputs its intelligence effectively to work, and builds a second story\nto its nest, thus flooring over the unwelcome eggs. This expedient\nis repeated as long as the Cow Bird continues her mischief, until\nsometimes a three-story nest is achieved. The outside of the nest,\ncomposed of glistening milkweed flax, is pressed into a felt-like case,\nthe fibres serving at the same time to lash the nest to its support.\nWithin, to the depth of an inch, is a soft sponge-like material, which\nthe birds have made from the wool they have gathered from the stems\nof young ferns. A few horse-hairs, to give shape and stability to the\nnest, are to be found in the inside of the felt-like lining.\n\n[Illustration: THREE-STORY NEST OF YELLOW WARBLER.\n\nShowing the Builder\u2019s Manner of Out-witting the Cow Bird.]\n\nHundreds of nests, quite as novel as any that have been described,\nmight be instanced, showing varieties from so-called normal forms, but\nI shall content myself with only another example. Everyone is familiar\nwith the Ruby-throated Humming Bird, so common in the eastern half of\nthe United States. It is the smallest of all our birds. But its nest,\nwhich is by no means scarce, is a rare sight to the average man and\nwoman. No nest can be compared with it. It is a thing of beauty and a\njoy forever. A mass of cotton, with a hole in the top, and thatched all\nround with blue-gray lichens, and just as big as a walnut, conveys a\ngood idea of its appearance. But all nests are not made of cotton. The\nyellow wool that forms the dress of the undeveloped fern-frond, or the\nred shoddy that is wind-swept into heaps outside some woollen factory,\nis often made to take the place of the down of the seed of the poplar.\nNot to be mentioned in the same breath with these, is the nest I am now\nabout to describe. It was saddled upon the horizontal bough of a small\nwhite oak-tree that grew on the side of a thicket, and was peculiar\nfrom the nature of the material that composed its inner fabric. This\nsubstance resembled burnt umber in color, and was as soft as the finest\nwool, or the fluffiest down, and proved, upon examination, to be the\nmycelium of a fungus which the builders had gathered from decaying\nstumps or mildewing tree-branch.\n\n\n\n\nSTRANGE FRIENDSHIP.\n\n\nSomewhat widely distributed throughout temperate North America, but\nnowhere very abundant, is the little Acadian Owl, or Saw-whet Owl, as\nhe is popularly designated. In Eastern Pennsylvania he seems notably\nscarce, but this may be attributed to his pre-eminently nocturnal\nand secluded habits. Being a denizen of dense pine forests, and only\nventuring abroad in quest of food at the close of the day, his presence\nand numbers remain to many a mystery. Hollow trees, and the dark\ncaverns of rocks, are his natural retreats, and as these are to be met\nwith largely in densely-timbered regions and sequestered localities, he\nis seldom, if ever, seen in close proximity to human habitations. He\nseemingly shuns rather than courts the society of man. When routed from\nhis burrow in the broad glare of day he becomes very much bewildered,\nand is scarcely able to escape the approach of danger.\n\nThe common appellation of Saw-whet Owl, which is applied to the\nspecies, owes its origin to the close resemblance which the notes of\nthe bird bear to the noise produced by the filing of a saw. These\nnotes are so deceptive, that persons unacquainted with their source\nhave fancied themselves in the vicinity of a saw-mill, or in near\npresence to a woodman occupied in whetting a saw. Audubon, hearing\nthese notes in a thicket for the first time, was thus deceived. The\nsame distinguished writer gives, on the authority of Mr. McCullock, an\ninteresting description not only of the notes of this Owl, but also\nof his remarkable powers of ventriloquism. On a certain occasion his\ninformant was aroused by what appeared to be the feeble tones of a\ndistant bell. But in nearing the spot whence the sounds emanated, they\napparently shifted from point to point, being heard at one time close\nby, and at the next moment in the distance, now on the left, then on\nthe right, and as often in the rear as in the front. Finally the author\nof these sounds was discovered at the entrance of his burrow in a\nbirch-tree. Stationing himself at the base of the tree in full view of\nthe bird who was calling to his partner, Mr. McCullock had a splendid\nopportunity of observing an exhibition of his singular and exceptional\nventriloquial powers.\n\nSmooth, gliding and noiseless is the flight of this Owl, and but\nslightly elevated and protracted. When seeking for food he may be seen\nsailing over low meadows in the neighborhood of his accustomed haunts,\nor, perched upon a stump or fence-rail adjoining thereto, quietly\ngazing in every direction for whatever of life may chance to manifest\nitself, which he seizes with remarkable adroitness, even sometimes\nventuring to assail prey larger than himself. The smaller birds,\nawakened from their perch by his cries, fall ready victims to his\nrapacity.\n\nHollow trees, or the deserted nests of other species, are selected\nfor breeding-quarters. The eggs, varying from four to six in number,\nare pure white, sub-spherical, of crystalline clearness, and measure\none and one-eighth by one and seven-eighths inches. The food of this\ninteresting little Owl, which is not so large as a robin, though\nappearing bulkier, consists of small quadrupeds and birds, but chiefly\nof various species of insects.\n\nWhen taken quite young, and held in confinement, this Owl becomes quite\ntame, permitting strangers as well as his keeper to handle him with\nthe utmost freedom, without so much as resenting such familiarity. But\na greater attachment is manifested towards the master whom he is able\nto recognize by the sound of his voice, and in whose presence he is\npeculiarly fascinating and agreeable.\n\nLike _Scops asio_--the Red Owl--he leads a solitary existence, save on\nthe approach of warm weather, when the sexes are discovered together,\nor are heard calling one to the other. Mating commences early in April,\nand about the middle of the month the birds have located their nests\nin the hollow of a tree, about twenty feet from the ground, where the\nfemale lays her complement of eggs. The entrance to the hole is very\nsmall, scarcely two inches in diameter. Upon the female devolves the\nwhole work of incubation, although the male takes a hand in raising the\nyoung. The latter leave the nest about the first week of May, and when\ndisturbed make a noise that sounds like a dog sniffling the air, which,\nwhen heard, especially at night in heavy timber, is quite certain to\nstartle one and make him fancy a bear or some such animal up a tree\nnear by.\n\nSome years ago there lived in the hollow of an oak tree, not far from\nGermantown, a common Chickaree Squirrel--_Sciurus Hudsonius_--with\nthis little Owl as his sole companion. This association reminded me\nof the connection of the burrowing owl of the West with the singular\nsettlements of the prairie dog, the life-relations of the two creatures\nbeing really intimate in very many localities, although the owls are\nsimply attracted to the villages of the prairie-dogs as the most\nsuitable places for shelter and nidification, where they find eligible\nready-made burrows and are saved the trouble of digging for themselves.\nCommunity of interest makes them gregarious to an extent unusual among\nrapacious birds, while the exigencies of life on the plains cast their\nlot with the rodents. That the owls live at ease in the settlements,\nand on familiar terms with their four-footed neighbors, is an undoubted\nfact, but that they have any intimate domestic relations is open to\nquestion. That the quadruped and the birds are often seen to scuttle\nat each other\u2019s heels into the same hole when alarmed is no proof that\nthey live together, for in such a case the two merely seek the nearest\nshelter, independently of each other. In the larger settlements there\nare thousands upon thousands of burrows, many of them occupied by the\ndogs, but more, perhaps, vacant. These latter are the homes of the\nowls. It is possible that the respective retreats of a dog and an owl\nmay have one common vestibule, but this does not imply that they nest\ntogether. There are fewest owls in the towns most densely populated by\nthe dogs and the greatest number in the deserted villages, and this\nis strong evidence in point. But the owls are by no means confined to\nthe dog-towns, nor even to the similar communities of other gregarious\nspermophiles. They sometimes occupy the underground dens of wolves,\nfoxes and badgers. When the subject has been carefully investigated,\nthe owls never appear to enter the same hole or burrow with a squirrel,\nand a squirrel is never seen to enter a burrow that was occupied by\nowls, however strongly he may be tempted by fear to enter the first\nhole he should come to. The spermophile never likes to enter any burrow\nbut his own, and has been known to run past any number of inviting\nentrances in order that he may hide himself in his own domicile.\n\n[Illustration: SAW-WHET OWL AND CHICKAREE SQUIRREL.\n\nLiving Together in Perfect Harmony and Mutual Good-will.]\n\nIn the case of the Chickaree Squirrel and the Saw-whet Owl, they\noccupied the same hole together in perfect harmony and mutual\ngood-will. It was not an accidental occurrence, the Squirrel merely\nseeking the cavity to escape a danger that impended, for the bird and\nthe Squirrel had been repeatedly observed to enter the hole together,\nand in the most amicable manner possible, as though they had always\nshared the apartment. Ordinarily the Chickaree is a very pugnacious\ncreature, attacking with the greatest fierceness the gray and black\nsquirrel whenever they had the temerity to cross his path. He seems to\nbe ever bent upon blood. Though strictly by nature a rodent, subsisting\nprincipally upon nuts and the bark of trees, which his powerful\nincisors enable him to manipulate effectively, yet he has not always\nremained true to his instincts, for he has been frequently detected\nin eating the eggs of birds, and also in the seizure of the feathered\ndenizens of our lawns and woods, which he will capture with all the\nskill of the blood-thirsty weasel. His method of operation is peculiar.\nHe will lie in wait, concealed from view by the dense foliage of the\ntrees which he is wont to affect when in quest of game, and when some\nunsuspecting bird hovers near pounces upon it with unerring precision,\nand effecting its capture proceeds to suck, sitting up in true squirrel\nfashion, the life-sustaining fluid through a wound inflicted in the\nside of the neck. Having satiated his thirst, which may have been the\nprime object of the capture, the dead body of the bird is dropped, and\nthe little monster, upon erect haunches, poses, the embodiment of\nperfect contentment.\n\nBut in the case of the Owl it was otherwise. Perhaps it was too large\nfor the monster to attack, or, knowing from rumor of gossiping friends\nthe reputation of the former for cruelty and murder, a conciliatory\nspirit was thought the best to adopt. No one knows the bitter character\nof the first interview, or whether a liking for each other sprang up\nfrom the beginning. Be this as it may, there can be no denying the\nfact that a friendship was cemented between the two animals, widely\ndivergent in structural peculiarities as they are known to be, that\ngave hope of becoming long and enduring.\n\n\n\n\nNATURE\u2019S LITTLE STORE-KEEPER.\n\n\nOne of the most familiar of North American quadrupeds is the Hackee, or\nChipping Squirrel, as he is sometimes termed, from the strange, quaint\nutterances which he emits while rollicking with his fellows or in quest\nof something to eat. He is a beautiful little creature, notable alike\nfor the dainty elegance of his form and for the pleasing tints with\nwhich his dress is arrayed. His general color is brownish-gray upon the\nback, warming into orange-brown upon the forehead and hinder quarters.\nFive longitudinal black stripes and two streaks of yellowish-white\nadorn the dorsum and sides, which render him a most conspicuous being\nand one readily distinguishable from any other animal. His abdomen\nand throat are white. He is slightly variable in color according to\nlocality, and has been known to be so capricious of hue as to become\na pure white or a jetty black. But for the commonness of the species,\nwhich is found in great numbers in almost every place, his fur, from\nits extreme beauty, would long since have taken nearly as high rank as\nsable or ermine.\n\nNo quadruped is so brisk or so lively. His quick, rapid movements have\nnot inaptly compared him to the wren. As he whisks about the branches\nof the brushwood and small timber among which he is chiefly met, or\nshoots through their interstices with his peculiar jerking movements,\nand his odd clicking cry, like the chip-chipping of newly-hatched\nchickens, the analogy between himself and the bird is strikingly\napparent. Occurring in great plenty, and being a bold little creature,\nhe is much persecuted by small boys, who, with long sticks, and\nwell-directed blows, manage to fell to the earth many a luckless fellow\nas he endeavors to escape his pursuers by running along the rail fences.\n\nHackees delight in sequestered localities. There they tunnel their\nhomes, preferring some old tree, or a spot of earth sheltered by a\nwall or a bank. Their burrows are rather complicated affairs, running\noften to great lengths, so that the task of digging the animal out\nof his retreat becomes one of no easy accomplishment. Sandy patches\nof ground, on the outskirts of a woods, are not unusually chosen for\nburrows. A hole, almost perpendicular, is drilled into the earth to a\ndepth of three feet, and is thence continued with one or more windings,\nrising a little nearer the surface until it has advanced some nine or\nten feet, when it is made to terminate in a large circular nest, made\nof oak leaves and dried grasses. Small lateral galleries branch off\nfrom the main burrow, in which these provident little creatures lay up\ntheir winter\u2019s provisions. Wheat, Indian corn, buckwheat, hazel-nuts,\nacorns and the seeds of grasses have been found in their underground\nreceptacles, a proof, were further evidence lacking, that they do not\npass the cold famine months in a sluggish and benumbed condition.\nSeveral layers of leaves, aggregating nine inches in thickness, are\noften found over the entrance, as a protection from frosts, which are\nfurther prevented from intrusion by the sealing up of the mouth from\nwithin.\n\nEverything is done by the Hackee in a business-like manner. In\ngathering his food, lest the sharp beak of the nut may injure his\ncheeks when he places the fruit in his pouch, he nips off the point,\nand then by the aid of his fore-paws deliberately pushes the nut\ninto one of his pouches. Another and another are similarly treated,\nand taking a fourth between his teeth, he dives into his burrow,\nand, having packed them methodically away, returns to the surface\nfor a fresh cargo. Four nuts are his load at each journey. With his\ncheck-pouches distended to their fullest capacity, and laboring most\ntruly under an embarrassment of riches, the little fellow presents a\nmost ludicrous appearance.\n\n[Illustration: Copyright 1900 by A. R. DUGMORE.\n\nCHIPPING SQUIRRELS FEEDING.]\n\nWhen menaced by foes, by which so defenceless and conspicuous an animal\nis sure to be surrounded in great numbers, the Hackee makes at once for\nhis burrow, and is there secure from the attacks of nearly all enemies.\nOne foe there is, however, that cares naught for the burrow, but\nfollows the poor Hackee through all of its windings, and never fails\nto attain his sanguinary object. This remorseless foe is the stoat, or\nermine, whose only _penchant_ is the blood, and not the flesh, of his\nvictim.\n\n[Illustration: HACKEE, OR CHIPPING SQUIRREL.\n\nLaying up Food for the Famine of Winter.]\n\nEarly in November the Hackee moves into his winter-quarters, excepting\nin occasional instances when the sun shines with peculiar warmth, and\nis not seen again until the beginning of spring. The young, to the\nnumber of four or five, are produced in May, and there is generally a\nsecond brood some time in August. A rather pugnacious animal is the\nmale Hackee, and during the combats which are frequently waged when\nseveral males meet, their tails have been known to snap asunder from\nthe violence of their movements, for these members, it is undoubtedly\ntrue, are wonderfully brittle in their structure.\n\nPretty as he is, and graceful as are his movements, it hardly pays\nto keep the animal in a domesticated state, for his temper is very\nuncertain, and he is generally sullen even towards his keeper. But\ncould he be induced to take to the life of a captive kindly and\npleasantly, he would, by his cunning little ways, prove a most\nagreeable companion.\n\nSome years ago an American writer of note had a pair of these animals\nwhich made their home in the foundation wall of her house. A row of\nwild cherry trees stood near the lawn in the rear of the building,\nwhich the little fellows were wont to visit many times daily, carrying\noff in their pouches quite a number at a time of the numerous cherry\npits that lay scattered over the ground.\n\nThe season being dry, one morning early the person to whom reference\nhas been made repaired to the lawn and poured a pitcher of water over\nsome plants that grew near her porch, when one of these squirrels was\nobserved to pass among them on his way to the trees. He paused from\nhis journey, sat up on his haunches, took one of the wet leaves in his\nhands, pressed the sides together for a trough for the moisture, and\nholding it to his mouth drank from it the water in the most comical\nfashion imaginable. He then went to another and another, drinking\nfrom five or six leaves in all, while she stood watching near by. A\nlarge saucer filled with water was placed near the plants, which the\nlittle fellows quickly discovered, and both thereafter drank and washed\nregularly at the dish.\n\nA practice of testing their knowledge of nuts was then made. When\ncracked hickory nuts were given them, they at once sat down and picked\nout of them the meats, which they eagerly devoured. Cracked nuts, it\nwould seem, were deemed worthless for storage. But, on the contrary,\nwhen whole nuts were given, they tested them, evidently by weight, to\nsee if they were sound. Sound nuts were promptly transported to their\nburrow, but the poor ones were dropped. They were never known to be\nmistaken in their judgment, for the rejected nuts on being cracked were\nalways found to be worthless.\n\nAlthough the food of the Hackee is mostly vegetal in character, yet,\nlike his English relative, he is occasionally carnivorous in his\nappetite, for he has been detected in the cruel act of robbing birds\u2019\nnests and devouring their callow young.\n\nSome Squirrels are remarkable for their extreme agility in climbing\ntrees, and in making extraordinary leaps from one bough to another or\nfrom some elevated spot to the earth. The Ground Squirrels, however,\nare intended to abide on the earth, and are seldom known to ascend\ntrees to any great height. As they possess cheek-pouches, they are\nplaced in a separate genus under the name of Tamias, which is a Greek\nword, signifying a store-keeper, and are distinct from the others\nin being furnished with these appendages. _Tamias striatus_ is the\nappellation by which the subject of our sketch is known to the books.\n\n\n\n\nCANINE SAGACITY.\n\n\nMany years ago, two decades or more, the writer was the possessor of a\nlittle dog--a French poodle by breed. A more knowing animal of his kind\nnever lived. He was a pretty creature, with hair as white as driven\nsnow, and manners the most agreeable. Great pride was taken in his\nappearance. That his dress should maintain its natural purity, he was\nweekly subjected to a warm-water bath. This task devolved upon a little\nbrunette, for whom the canine had contracted a strong affection.\n\nFrisky, for such was our pet\u2019s name, had never before coming into\nthe family known what it was to receive a good washing. His first\nexperience was as uninteresting as it was novel and strange. It was\nanything but pleasant to him, but the little fellow bore it like a\nmartyr.\n\nSuch treatment, by the ordinary cur, would have been resented with\nsnaps and snarls, but his was a gentle nature that knew no such\nuntoward manifestations. But there was, all the same, an aversion to\nthe bath, as looks only too plainly indicated. So pronounced was the\ndislike, that the very sight of water caused his delicate frame to\nshake like a child\u2019s with the cold.\n\nHad not the greatest care been taken in the preparation of the bath,\nit might have been thought that the tremors that shook his by no\nmeans robust frame were induced by the water\u2019s chilliness or by its\nundue warmth. But this could not be the case, as the fluid was always\ntempered to the most sensitive touch.\n\nBut there came a time, however, when Frisky was determined to evade\nthese kindnesses upon the part of his mistress. He had pleaded\nimmunity from them in pitying glances, but without avail. Something\nmust be done, his looks would seem to say, as he lay cuddled up by the\ncosy kitchen fire. One could almost read the thoughts that were shaping\nthemselves in his mind.\n\nFor three long years Frisky, who had been allowed to sleep at nights\nin the sitting-room, was accustomed, when morning broke, to visit the\ndifferent members of the family in their respective dormitories, and\nhave a lively, rollicking time. These visits were always looked forward\nto, and in no instance, during the whole of that period, were they\never intermitted. To have missed one of these exciting romps, would\nhave been a keenly-felt deprivation. But that we were to be doomed to\nsuch disappointment and affliction, subsequent events only too clearly\nshowed.\n\nOne Saturday morning, for it was always on the Jewish Sabbath that the\nbath was given, Frisky failed to make his accustomed calls. This was\nnoticed by everyone, and no amount of comment was provoked. Loudly\nhis name was spoken, but no response was elicited, and it soon became\nevident that the cunning little elf was beyond the reach of calling.\nSearch was instituted, but to no effect. His absence was lamented, and\nit was feared some calamity had befallen him. A silence, like unto\ndeath, filled the house. There was weeping and wailing about, for\nFrisky was not.\n\nBut just as the shadows of night were deepening, and hope was dying\nout of the bosoms of all, the patter of little feet was heard upon the\npavement leading to the back-door. The sounds were too familiar to\nbe those of a stranger. All listened with breathless silence. \u201c\u2019Tis\nFrisky, \u2019tis Frisky,\u201d went up a chorus of voices, and we all rushed\nto the door to welcome the runaway back to the fold. Not a chiding\nword was spoken, not a look of reproof given, as with outstretched\narms the culprit was received to our hearts. A more crestfallen,\nconscience-stricken being, however, could hardly be conceived to exist.\n\nThings resumed their wonted sway. Happiness reigned once more in\nthe family. Frisky\u2019s matutinal visits were as though they had not\nbeen interrupted. His frolics had all their former vivacity. The sin\ncommitted had been condoned, and he in splendid repute again.\n\n[Illustration: MY DOG FRISKY.\n\nHow He Greeted His Master.]\n\nA week since his first wrong-doing had elapsed. Would he repeat his\nplan of getting rid of the obnoxious bath?--had never entered our\nminds. The day dawned bright and lovely. All was bustle outside,\nand the slamming of shutters told that the servant was astir in the\nkitchen. As was her usual custom, the entry door was left open for\nFrisky. All ears were on the stretch. There were no familiar signs.\nThe sharp, glad bark that always heralded his coming was wanting, and\nso, too, the timing of little feet upon the stairs. Not a sound of\nbreathing, not a rustle of counterpane, was heard. Still and motionless\nwe all lay, till the minutes seemed hours, and then came the thought\nthat it was Saturday and Frisky had again disappeared. Search was\neverywhere made, but the missing one was nowhere to be found. That he\nhad slipped out when the door was opened, was now most obvious. No\neffort was made to find his hiding-place, for we all knew that he would\ncome back with the shadows.\n\nHis coming was later this time than before. The sun had long gone to\nrest. It was pitch dark when the pawing of little feet against the door\nannounced his return.\n\nThis second offence was passed over as the first had been, and Frisky\nwas his jolly, frolicsome self once more. A score of Saturdays was thus\nmanaged and the hateful bath escaped, for well this cunning bit of\nflesh and fur knew that the seventh was the only day of the week when\nit was convenient for his mistress to attend to his ablutions.\n\nThat Frisky was able to count, or had some means of determining the\ncoming of the day he so thoroughly detested, there can be no question.\nBut the exceeding cuteness of his nature not only showed itself in his\nmanner of getting rid of the hateful bath, but in various other ways.\nHe seemed equal to every emergency that could arise. Oftentimes I have\nwatched him, as he lay upon a rug by the kitchen-hearth, or upon the\npillow of a new-made bed, for he was at liberty to go where he pleased\nabout the house, and I have fancied that I could see him thinking, or\nread the train of thoughts passing through his mind, so human-like\nseemed he in these reflective moments.\n\nWhen scolded for some trifling misdoing, or threatened with denial of\nsome expected pleasure, no so-called brute could show more pitying\nglances. His grief was often heart-rending to behold. Prostrate upon\nthe ground or carpet, or in what place soever he chanced to be,\nhe would moan and moan for hours together, and only consent to be\ncomforted when the burden was lifted from off his soul by a kind word\nspoken, a smiling look given, or a quick, hearty shake of his delicate\npaw. When happy, and it did not take much to make him happy, he was\nfull of life and vivacity, capering and prancing about with the utmost\n_abandon_, and doing his very best to show off his happiness and\npleasure. His eyes seemed kindled with a holy affection, and a blaze of\nheavenly sunshine would appear to play over his features. I have seen\nhim, when in such mental agony, to actually shed tears, a sight that\nnever could fail to reach and melt the flintiest hearts. He knew and\nunderstood every word that was spoken to him, and responded by a shake\nof the head, or a low, soft bark. A conscience within told him the\nright from the wrong, and though he sometimes knowingly erred, yet he\nwas always truly sorrowful for his sins afterwards.\n\nThere came a day, however, when the idol of the household went out\nand never returned. Some unlucky event had doubtless befallen him, or\nhe had been spirited away to parts unknown. If living, I trust he is\nbeing cared for as he richly deserves. He was a kind, gentle, loving\nbeing, and I cannot help thinking that some day I shall meet him in the\nbeautiful world beyond the grave.\n\n\n\n\nFELINE INTELLIGENCE.\n\n\nProbably no creature has been more calumniated by man than the Domestic\nCat. While wonderful intellectual powers, as well as the most amiable\ntraits of character, have been accredited to the dog, and rightly so,\nit seems rather strange that so little of good has been found to exist\nin the subject of our sketch. She has been held up to reprobation as a\nthoroughly selfish animal, seeking her own comfort rather than that of\nothers, and manifesting a stronger attachment to places than to owners.\nSly and treacherous as her untamed kindred of the forests and jungles\nare known to be, she receives no higher commendation, and is even\naccused of concealing her talons in her velvety paws when matters go\npleasantly with her, and ready to use them even upon her best friends\nwhen crossed in her purposes.\n\nWhatever may have been the experience of those who have so grossly\nlibelled the Cat, my own large acquaintance with the animal has led\nto different conclusions. Nearly all the Cats with which I have been\nmost familiar have been as docile, tractable and affectionate as any\ndog could be, and have exhibited an amount of intellectual ability\nunsurpassed by few dogs. There is as much to be said about the good\nand bad temper of the Cat as of the dog, while, as to her mental\ncapacities, the advantage is not so decidedly upon the side of the\ndog as is generally supposed. Nor is my own experience exceptional,\nfor in all instances where friends have possessed favorite Cats their\nexperiences have been similar to my own.\n\nSelf is not always paramount to everything else with Cats. Some are\ngenerous to a fault. Mothers have been known, whose devotion to their\nyoung has been so strong that they have hunted all day for their\nbenefit, even when the latter were full-grown, scarcely taking any\nnourishment for themselves. But such feelings are perfectly natural.\nWhen, however, we see a Cat that is willing to share its food with a\nstranger, one cannot resist the thought that here is a case of real\ngenerosity. A friend once possessed a fine black Cat. He was dainty in\nhis eating, scrupulously exact in his dress, and well-mannered in his\ndeportment. No Cat ever received better training. Unlike the average\nCat, he could be trusted in the presence of tempting viands, and was\nnever known to abuse the confidence reposed in him. Beauty, for so\nhe was called, was a model fellow, and well deserved the name. The\neducation he received, while it made him gentle, kind and affectionate,\nand gave him reliability of character, did still more, for it endowed\nhim with a soul that was not a stranger to the noblest impulses. Life\nhad few luxuries that he did not enjoy; but a sprig of catnip was more\nto him than the choicest steak or raciest tidbit, and to this luxury he\nwas weekly treated. Notwithstanding his fondness for the herb, he was\nnever reluctant to share it with another, whom Fortune had less favored.\n\nCats, at least such as are well circumstanced, possess some knowledge\nof the uses of things. We once knew a Cat that would, when out of\ndoors, make its presence known by a few loud raps upon the closed door,\nadministered by its right front paw. If the call was not immediately\nanswered, a few more raps, louder than before, would be given, and then\nthe Cat, unable to restrain its impatience, would spring up to the\nlatch, striking it a downward blow, as though endeavoring, human-like,\nto effect an entrance.\n\nBut quite as interesting as any of the foregoing cases is that of a\nfemale Cat that had run a spine into one of her hind feet. Limping upon\nthree legs she made her way to her mistress, and, raising her foot,\nimplored with a piteous look and sad, distressing cries the removal of\nthe offensive spine. A child could not have made its suffering better\nunderstood, nor supplicated the needed relief more intelligently, than\ndid this poor creature, which thoughtless man in his self-glorification\nis so prone to regard as a senseless, unintelligent and unreasoning\nbeing, which has no existence beyond this sublunary sphere.\n\n[Illustration: TOM ON DUTY.\n\nGuarding His Master\u2019s Cows.]\n\nWhile Cats are useful in the destruction of vermin, and afford man\nno little amusement by their wonderful antics, yet they seldom put\nthemselves to any practical use. The Cat, about which we shall now have\nsomething to say, is an exception to the rule, and quite a marvel in\nhis ways. He is a resident of a far-away town in New Jersey, and came\nto his present quarters a long, gaunt, wild-eyed, unfed creature. But\nsomething in his looks told of a soul within that fore-shadowed a great\ndeal of good, and so the Cat, which at first seemed an unwelcome guest,\nbegan to be looked upon in an appreciative manner. And now Tom, as the\nCat is called, is a fixture in the household.\n\nAlmost from his advent into the family Tom began to give an exhibition\nof his common-sense. This first remarkable show of intelligence was on\nthe Sunday succeeding his adoption. The family had repaired to church,\nleaving Tom contentedly snoozing in a corner of the kitchen. But their\nsurprise can hardly be pictured when in the midst of the sermon Tom\ncame flying down the aisle to the place where his master was seated,\nand clawing the legs of the trousers of the latter, began yelling at\nthe top of his voice. The minister stopped in the midst of his talking,\nand everybody got up to see what the trouble was, but Tom, utterly\noblivious of them all, continued his strange behavior.\n\nConvinced that the actions of the Cat were not the result of an\nepileptic fit, but foreboded something wrong at the house, the male\nportion of the congregation started thither, and when the house was\nreached a dense column of smoke was seen pouring from the kitchen\nwindow. The door was thrown open, and the carpet on the floor was\nfound burned to a cinder. A coal of fire had evidently fallen from the\nstove-grate and started the fire. That Tom had understood the danger,\nwas shown by his actions.\n\nOne day, a horse, belonging to a neighboring farmer, ran away, and tore\ndown the road past Tom\u2019s home at a thundering gait. Tom was sauntering\naround the yard, and his attention being drawn to the rattling of\nthe wagon, he was soon in the road to see what the trouble was, and\nobserving that the team was unaccompanied by a driver, he leaped upon\nthe head of the runaway horse and hung on with teeth and claws until\nthe animal was secured. On another occasion a tramp, happening along\nthe road, descried a bicycle that belonged to one of the inmates of the\nhouse. He was soon astride the wheel, and might have made his escape\nhad not he fallen under the eyes of Tom, who, as quick as a flash, was\nafter the thief. Leaping into the air, he fell on the man\u2019s shoulders\nand set his teeth firmly into his neck. There was a howl and a crash\nthat brought the family to the yard, and there they found the tramp\nrolling on the ground and making desperate efforts to get away from\nTom\u2019s rigid jaws. Finally the Cat was induced to relax his hold, and\nthe wounds of the tramp being cared for, he was allowed to proceed on\nhis way.\n\nMore wonderful still is what follows: When the master wants to bait\nhis cows and keep them within a certain area he instructs Tom to watch\nthem, and the allotted task is performed with all the faithfulness and\nwisdom of a shepherd\u2019s dog. Any disposition to stray outside the limits\nis checked, the erring animal being hustled back by Tom, who, attaching\nhimself to her caudal extremity, remains there until she is brought\nback to where she belongs.\n\nNo animals seem to require human sympathy so much as Cats, or to be so\ncapable of giving sympathy in return. Where they have formed a strong\nattachment to a person they are loath to be away from his society and\nfollow him wheresoever he goes, giving caresses and expecting a liberal\nshare of the same in return. I have been upon a bed of sickness and a\nfavorite Cat, which I always addressed as Puss, would, whenever the\nopportunity occurred, make her way into my room, and, jumping upon the\nbed, lay her head against my face in the most endearing manner, and\npurr her sweetest and gentlest, ever and anon stopping to express her\nsympathy by licking my forehead or uplifted hand. Even when Puss has\nbeen suffering from maladies to which all flesh of her kind is heir, I\nhave sat by her side and stroked her head, and have read in the look\nwhich she gave me that she felt my sympathy and appreciated it beyond\nany power of expression of hers to declare. She seemed to think at all\ntimes that I was wholly her own, and no other Cat, not even one of\nher own offspring, would be allowed such familiarities, as any attempt\nwas sure to provoke the most intense jealousy. Nor was I permitted\nto lavish attentions upon any of her kith, for she would soon become\nwrought up to a high pitch of excitement, and instant vengeance would\nbe wreaked upon the recipient of my favors.\n\nMuch more might be said about the Cat. It has its good qualities and\nits bad qualities. There is hardly a trait of character which the human\nanimal possesses that it does not possess. Of course I now speak of\nour Domestic Cat. In the long-past times, when the Egyptian nation was\nat the head of the civilized world, _Felis maniculata_, which is the\nreputed origin of our Domestic Cat, was universally domesticated in\ntheir homes, and it is not unknown the very high position it held in\nthe love and esteem of the people, for it was deified and worshipped as\na god. Even in England, still later down in time, the Domestic Cat was\nso scarce that royal edicts were issued for its preservation. Yet in\nthose days, A. D. 948, the wild Cat was rife in the British Islands and\nwas considered as a vicious animal, which must be destroyed, and not a\nuseful one to be protected by the law. How we came into the possession\nof the Cat is a matter of conjecture, the current belief being that it\nwas imported from Egypt into Greece and Rome, and thence into England.\n\n\n\n\nBRIGHT LITTLE CEBIDAE.\n\n\nNext to man, in descending the scale of animal life, come the\nQuadrumana, or Four-handed Animals. They are represented by the Apes,\nBaboons, Monkeys and Lemurs. Excepting the last, and a few other\nspecies, these animals are not very pleasing in aspect or habits, some\nof them, the larger apes and baboons, being positively disgusting.\nThe air of grotesque humanity that characterizes them is horribly\nsuggestive of human idiocy, and we approach an imprisoned gorilla\nor baboon with much the same repugnance that we do a debased and\nbrutal maniac. This aversion seems not to be produced so much by the\nresemblance that the ape bears to man, as by the horror felt lest man\nshould degenerate to the condition, character and physiognomy of the\nape. But to the naturalist, who sees wonder or beauty in all things\nanimate, these creatures are no less pleasing than others that are not\nso repugnant.\n\nWere we to take a survey of the varied forms which the Quadrumana\nof the Old World assume, we would find that the forms would show\nsuch diversification that there would hardly seem scope for further\nmodifications. Yet the prolific power of nature is so inexhaustible,\nthat the depth of our researches would only bring to light objects\nof such infinite variety of form as to overwhelm the mind with\nsurprise and admiration. Thus it would be found to be with the\nCebid\u00e6, or American Monkeys. While they would be shown to possess\nthe chief characteristics of the monkey nature, thus establishing\ntheir close relationship with the Old World monkeys, yet they would\nbe seen to exhibit the strangest modification of details. Their four\nhand-like paws, and other quadrumanous peculiarities, would indicate\ntheir _status_ in the animal kingdom, while sundry differences\nof conformation would show that they were intended to live under\nconditions that would ill suit their relatives on the other side of the\nglobe. Curious it is to observe how the same idea of animal life is\nrepeated in various lands and climates, even though seas, impassable\nto creatures unaided by the light of civilized reason, intervene. So\nwe have the Simiad\u00e6 of Asia and Africa represented by the Cebid\u00e6 of\nAmerica. Nor is this wonderful idea restricted exclusively to the\nman-like animals. The lion, tiger and other feline races of the Eastern\nContinent find Western representatives in the puma and jaguar, and\nthe same circumstance may be observed of nearly all the mammalia, the\nbirds, the reptiles, the fishes, and, in short, through the entire\nanimal kingdom.\n\nBut of all the monkeys of the New World, and they are numbered by\nhundreds included in several genera and species, there are none that\ndeserve more consideration than the Capuchin Monkeys. They are active,\nlittle animals, lively and playful. So similar are all the species\nin general habits, that a description of one will equally serve for\nany other. Their youthfulness and sportive manners make them very\ndesirable companions, and hence we frequently find them domesticated\nby the native Indians and European settlers. Like other small monkeys,\nthe Capuchin often strikes up a friendship for other animals that may\nhappen to live in or near its home, the cat being one of the most\nfavored of its allies. It is sometimes the case this familiarity is\ncarried so far that the cat is turned into a horse by the monkey, who,\nseated upon her back, perambulates the premises. More unpromising\nsubjects, we are told, have been pressed into similar service. Humboldt\ncites the case of one that was accustomed to catch a pig every morning,\nand, mounted upon its back, was known to retain its seat during the\nentire day. Even when the pig was feeding in the savannas its rider\nremained firm, and bestrode the animal with as much pertinacity as one\nskilled in equestrianism would the most rampant steed.\n\nNo little difficulty is experienced in settling the species of\nthe Capuchins, for their fur is rather variable in tint, and some\nindividuals differing so greatly as to cause them to look like another\nspecies. The general color of the Capuchin--_Cebus apella_--is a golden\nolive, a white fur bordering the face in some, though not in all\nindividuals. _Cebus fatuellus_, commonly called the Horned Sapajou or\nCapuchin, is much more conspicuous than the last, as the erect fringe\nof hair that projects so prominently from the forehead indicates it\nat once: hence from the front, the hair assumes the appearance of two\ntufts or horns, from which peculiarity the animal derives its name.\nThese horns are not completely developed until the monkey has attained\nmaturity. There is also a manifest difference in color of hair, the\nSapajou having a constant tinge of red in its fur. It is usually of a\ndeep brown color, but in some individuals there is a marked resemblance\nto that peculiar purple-black which is obtainable by diluting common\nblack ink with water, while in others the ruddy hue is so pronounced as\nto impart a chestnut tint to the animal\u2019s hair. The fringed crest is\ntipped with gray.\n\nPerhaps no more interesting form of the Capuchins exists than the\nWeeper Monkey, or Sai, or, as it is called in the books, _Cebus\ncapucinus_. As in the case of the two preceding species, it is an\ninhabitant of Venezuela and Brazil, and as lively as any of its\ncongeners. Like its brethren, its tail is invested with a dense growth\nof hair, but this does not interfere with its prehensile powers. The\nSai is possessed of a large amount of intelligence, and its quaint\nlittle ways make it a great favorite with those who delight to watch\nits quick and agile movements. While things of a vegetable character\nconstitute the chief part of its food, yet it manifests a fondness for\nvarious kinds of insects, and is sometimes known to ascend to higher\nprey, for it has been observed to feed upon birds, which it devours\nwith avidity, not even waiting to pluck off the feathers. Eggs are also\nthought to form a no inconsiderable part of this Capuchin\u2019s diet.\n\nSome few years ago, Prof. Cope had in his possession a tame Sai, which\nwas kept in a cage, or, rather, was supposed to be kept in it, for the\nanimal had a strong aversion to confinement, and was sure to break\nloose therefrom sooner or later. When in durance vile, and wishing to\nbreak prison, he always directed his attention to the hinges, and no\nmatter how firmly they were fixed, he was sure before long to extract\nthe staples, pull out the nails, and so open the door at the hinges,\nand not at the latch.\n\nFinding that the cage could not hold him, his master had him confined\nby a strap fastened around the waist, after the fashion of monkeys.\nThe strap, however, proved to be of no more use than the cage, for the\ncrafty animal soon contrived to open it, and this he did by ingeniously\npicking out the threads by which the strap was sewn to the buckle, and\nso rendering the fastenings useless.\n\nAgain he was confined to the cage and carefully watched. Having rid\nhimself of the strap, he began to consider how he might apply it to\nsome useful purpose. So, having perceived that some food had fallen\nbeyond his reach, he took one end of the strap in his paw, flung the\nother over the morsel of food, and so drew it toward him. In this feat\nhe displayed great accuracy of aim, seldom missing the object which he\ndesired. Once or twice, when he had to make a longer throw than usual,\nhe loosened his hold of the strap. The first time that this happened,\nsome one handed him the poker. He took it, drew the strap toward him,\nand resumed its use as before.\n\nNo intelligent person can deny that these acts were prompted by reason.\nSo far from even being aided by instinct, the animal was certainly\nacting in direct opposition to it. The instinct of an animal when\nconfined or tethered in any way is to break loose by main strength, and\nthe instinct of the monkey would have impelled him to force his way\nthrough the bars of the cage or to strain at the strap until he had\nbroken it in two. But it was his reason that taught him to look for the\nweak part in both cage and strap, and, having found it, to devote his\nenergies to that part until he had succeeded in his object.\n\n[Illustration: JACK AT DINNER.\n\nShowing His Use of Table Implements.]\n\nWas it possible for instinct to teach him that the hinges were the weak\npart of his cage, and that, if he could only remove the staples or\nnails, the door would open and he would be free? Could instinct teach\nhim that the stitches of the strap-buckle were to the strap what the\nstaples and nails were to the hinges, and that if he could but pick\nout the threads, the fastenings of the strap would be rendered of no\neffect? Neither could instinct teach him to use the strap after the\nmanner of a lasso, nor to employ the poker in regaining his lost weapon.\n\nNot only did he thus show his ability to deal with the obstacles\nthat stood in the way of his freedom, and without even the slightest\nsuggestion from the mind of his master, but he also gave evidence that\nhe had the capacity to profit by many of the civilities by which he\nfound himself surrounded in the life in which he was placed. Monkeys\nare remarkable for their power of imitation, and Jack, as this Capuchin\nwas called, proved himself to be no ordinary fellow in this respect.\nHe had seen his master eat out of a dish, using knife, fork and spoon\nwhen occasion demanded, and nothing would do but an abandonment of his\nold habits--the using of his fingers, which his ancestors were wont\nto do--and the assumption of civilized practices. In time he became\nquite skilful in the use of these table implements and showed greater\ndexterity in handling them than many a man has shown. Accustomed to\ntheir use, he would never have things any other way. The writer has\nrepeatedly been present when he was taking his meals. Seated upon the\nground, his head and body slightly bent forward, with his plate of\nfood before him, the ground serving him as a table, Jack would help\nhimself in a quiet, cool and deliberate manner, all the while evincing\nin movement and look an air of the most consequential importance. To\nsay that he was proud of the success which he had achieved in the\ncorrect use of table implements but tamely expresses the feeling which\nwould dominate his bosom at such times. No human individual who had\naccomplished some wonderful discovery or striking feat at arms that had\ncaused the earth to resound with his praises, could have felt more of\nthe emotion than Jack. Indeed, it was a remarkable feat for Jack, and\nhe had a right to feel vain over its accomplishment. All the while he\nwas eating he would chatter in his uncouth guttural tongue, as though\nhe had learned, like his human brethren, that conversation gave relish\nto a meal and was a powerful aid to digestion.\n\nWhile Jack was a very useful fellow to have about, especially where\ncats without owners abounded, for he was a terror upon these feline\nnuisances, yet he had a few faults which detracted very much from his\notherwise good character. Like some boys, he was addicted to the habit\nof throwing stones, but I am more than half disposed to believe that\nthis was an acquired propensity, which he had learned by seeing his\nmaster engaged in a similar diversion, or perhaps, which is not at\nall unlikely, he had been trained to such exercise and pastime by his\nmaster. Well, he could throw stones with considerable force, and with\nas much precision as any well-trained lad of fourteen summers could\ndo. Let the master but give him a stone, and say, \u201cNow, Jack, hit that\nfellow,\u201d and Jack needed no second telling. Throwing his right arm\nback, just as a boy would do, in order to give the necessary impetus\nto the missile, he would send the stone flying in the right direction.\nIt required no little skill and celerity of movement to dodge the\nprojectile, as the writer had more than once learned by painful\nexperience, for Jack\u2019s wonderful and well-directed aim seldom went\nastray of its purpose.\n\nTowards his master Jack showed great deference and attention, and was\never ready to obey his slightest wish. No one\u2019s society he enjoyed\nbetter. It was always a pleasure to be near him, but strangers he\nseemed to despise and treat as enemies. He would always eye them with\na suspicious look, and could never tolerate their presence for any\nconsiderable length of time without giving vent to his annoyance by the\nmost angry vociferations and hideous grimaces. Should this not have the\neffect of causing them to retire, he would emphasize his objection to\ntheir presence by pelting them with stones and such other missiles as\nwere convenient to hand. That he had a considerable affection for his\nmaster, and respected him, no stronger evidence could be given than\nwhat has already been adduced.\n\nAfter all that has been said concerning Jack, yet the world is full of\npeople, educated and intelligent as they consider themselves to be, who\ncannot see that this bit of flesh and spirit has been endowed by the\nsame wise Creator with the same traits of character, but differing in\ndegree, that they themselves possess. Going back to the ingenuity which\nJack displayed in the cases of the cage and the strap referred to, it\nmay be said to his credit that even Baron Trench himself could not have\nshown greater skill in the discovery of the weak parts of his prison\nand bonds than did this so-called brute, nor could he have exhibited\nmore patience and perseverance in working at them. Indeed, there are\nmany human beings that would not have been half so sensible as Jack,\nbut still we must believe that such high intelligence, comparatively\nspeaking, must inevitably perish with the body, through which as\na vehicle it was made to manifest itself. All intelligence is an\nemanation from the Divine Intelligence, and, when the life has gone out\nof the body from which it was made to shine forth, then it, instead of\nperishing with the material, returns to the Source of all intelligence,\nnot to be re-absorbed, but, as I think, to continue as a separate\nintelligence, drawing its life and light from the great Central Head,\nlike as the planets derive theirs from the centre of our material\nuniverse--the Sun.\n\n\n\n\nUNTUTORED MAN.\n\n\nStrange and unique as are the plants and animals of Australia, yet\nnothing definite can be affirmed of its native human inhabitants. They\nare a peculiar people, separated by a wide remove from the Papuans,\nthe Malays and the Negro. Of a dark, coffee-brown complexion, rather\nthan actually black, the Australian is but little inferior to the\naverage European in height, but is altogether of a much slimmer and\nfeebler build, his limbs, particularly, being very lean and destitute\nof calves, a defect which is a peculiarity of the darker races of man.\nHis head is long and narrow, dolichocephalic in type, with a low brow,\nprominent just above the orbital regions, but receding thence in a very\nmarked degree. The nose, proceeding from a comparatively narrow base,\nbroadens outwardly to a somewhat squat end, the eyes on each side of\nits attenuated root appearing drawn together. His face bulges into high\ncheek bones; his mouth is large and grotesque, the jaw-bone contracted,\nthe upper jaw projecting over the lower, but with fine, white teeth;\nthe chin cut away, and his ears slightly pricked forward. Not only the\nhead and face, but the entire body as well, is covered with a profusion\nof hair, which, when freed of its enclogging dirt and oil, is soft and\nglossy. Like most savage peoples, the effluvium of his skin, offensive\nas it naturally is, is very much exaggerated by the fish-oil he uses in\nthe anointment of his person.\n\nAlmost exclusively directed on the means of procuring sustenance, the\nintellect of the Australian operates wholly within the range of the\nrudest bodily senses. But inside that simple, elementary sphere he\ndisplays no little nimbleness and dexterity. In tracking and running\ndown his prey he is unsurpassed. His weapons, though of the most\nprimitive forms, are well adapted for the purposes of the chase. Rude\nand uncouth as his culinary and domestic apparatus appear, yet they\nserve equally well the objects for which they were designed. Some\nimitative facility, or rude sense of elementary art, is possessed\nby him, as is evidenced by the crude figures of sharks, lizards and\nother animals that may be seen carved in caves in the north-east of\nAustralia, and on the rocks of New South Wales. That he has some\nexuberance of rude sense is still further shown in his language, which,\nwithin its very circumscribed sensuous sphere, is fairly expressive and\ncomplete, and likewise in the ease with which he learns to chatter the\nlanguages of peoples with whom he has been thrown into contact.\n\nOutside the circle described, all is blank to the Australian. He has no\narchitecture, no pottery and almost no weaving, and may be said to have\nno religion. His sensations may scarcely, if at all, be said to have\nattained the dignity of sentiments, much less that of sentimentalities.\nThe man domineers over the woman, who is as much his property as his\nboomerang or dingo. Male offspring are held in considerable estimation,\nand a father will bewail the death of a son for months, and even for\nyears. Old men and old, infirm women, on the other hand, are cruelly\nabandoned, and left to starve to death, for they are considered\nworthless and a burden, and consumers of the food that should go to the\nsupport of the young and physically strong. During the summer they roam\nabout naked, utterly strangers to shame, which seems not to be innate\nto their natures. Wives are accounted an item in a man\u2019s chattels,\nthe stealing of which being met with some definite punishment. Caves,\nwhere they abound, afford shelter and security for some of the tribes,\nbut where these are not found, screens of twigs and bushes covered\nwith leaves or turf, or logs of wood and turf, serve for protection\nand cover for a few days or weeks, till the pursuit of food calls them\nelsewhere.\n\n[Illustration: AUSTRALIAN AT HOME.\n\nReturned from the Chase with Kangaroo.]\n\nThrift is unknown to the Australian. His life alternates between\nsatiety and semi-starvation. In summer he goes naked, but in winter\nhe wraps himself in kangaroo skins. A girdle of hair bound about his\nloins holds his dowak, as his digging-stick is called, and an apron of\nskins suspended from the girdle affords a protection from shrubs. His\nfood consists largely of animals, which he devours alive, and includes\nlizards, snakes, the heads being rejected, frogs, white ants, larv\u00e6 and\nmoths. Other animals are roasted, showing that the Australian knows,\ncontrary to an opinion that once prevailed, the method of kindling a\nfire. In seasons of dearth, when there is a paucity of food-material,\ncannibalism is general. He then makes an attack upon a neighboring\ntribe who is his enemy, and if he cannot obtain food in this manner,\nhe scruples not to fall back upon his wife and his children. One\nobligation of the wife is to keep her husband supplied with vegetable\nfood, such as the roots of the wild yam, seeds of the acacia, sophor\u00e6,\nleaves of the grass-tree, etc. Failing to produce a sufficiency, she is\nliberally treated with maulings and spearings, so that a wife generally\nappears bruised and gashed all over her body.\n\nAmong the different tribes of Australians, the boomerang is the\nprincipal weapon. This is a flat stick, three feet in length, and\ncurves at the centre. It is thrown into the air among birds, jerks in a\nzigzag, spiral or circular fashion, and when thrown by a person skilled\nin its use is sure to bring down a few individuals at every throwing.\nBesides this weapon they have the throwing-stick, flint-pointed spears,\nshields, stone-hatchets, digging-sticks, netting-needles, nets of\nsinews, fibres or hairs, water-skins and canoes.\n\nNo government exists among this people outside that of the family, and\nno laws except certain traditionary rules about property. As for their\nreligion, they have little save their terror of ghosts and demons,\nand certain superstitious traditional rites applicable to epochs in a\nman\u2019s life, but more especially so at the time of his burial. At ten\nyears of age, a boy is covered with blood; at ten to fourteen, he is\ncircumcised in the north and south of Australia, but not in the west or\non the Murray River; and at twenty, he is tattooed or scarred. Felicity\nafter death is the reward of proper burial, but a man dying in battle\nor rotting in a field becomes an evil genius.\n\nNo more perfect example of tribal organization exists than that of\nthe tribes of Australasia. In a very large proportion of existing\ntribes, the tribe is an aggregate of several stocks or distinct\nbodies of kindred, the persons composing the tribes being included\nin stocks which are, or are accounted, distinct from each other. Two\ntribal customs, namely, the prohibition of marriage between persons\nof the same stock, and the reckoning of kinship through females only,\nso that children are accounted of the stock of their mother, sustain\nthis organization. Persons of the same stock, too, owe duties to each\nother, and are to some extent participants in each other\u2019s liabilities.\nAn injury done by a man is an injury done by his stock, which may be\navenged upon any member thereof; or an injury done to a man is an\ninjury done by his stock, for which every member of it is bound to\nseek vengeance. As a consequence of these customs, a husband must be\nof a different stock from his wife or wives, and therefore must be\naccounted of a different stock from his children; and if he has wives\nof different stocks, then their respective children are accounted of\ndifferent stocks. More than one stock, it will thus be perceived, is\nrepresented in every household. And since a man owes duties to his\nstock--the duties of acknowledged blood-relationship--while to those\nof his family who are not of his stock, there being nothing but the\naccident of birth to unite him, it necessarily follows that the family\namong these tribes has very little cohesion.\n\nWholly sensuous is the language of the Australian, their abstraction\ntending only in the way of arithmetic as far as the number five, and\nthat itself being quite an unusual stretch. Polysyllabic as it is in\nformation, and having the accent on the penultimate, it is not at all\ninharmonious. Though it comprehends many divergent forms, yet they\nseem to be all fundamentally connected, constituting a group entirely\nisolated from any of the linguistic families of the other parts of the\nworld. Within its narrow confines the language is well developed and\nsensuously copious and expressive.\n\nLike almost all other savages, the native Australians are rapidly\ndisappearing before the spread of civilization. The European settlers\ncrowd them out of all the more fertile and habitable lands, pressing\nthem more and more into the desert of the interior, where they find\nit exceedingly hard to obtain in their roving, unsettled lives the\nnecessary means of subsistence. Great numbers are thus forced to\nsuccumb to deprivations not of their own bringing, and not a few to the\ndiseases and vices brought among them by the new possessors of their\ndomains. The lowest estimate of their number, prior to the settlement\nof Europeans among them, gives over 150,000, but the natives still\nsurviving scarcely figure one-half of that population. It is only a\nquestion of a decade or two when the Australian, like the Tasmanian,\nwho was once his near neighbor, will have vanished from off the face of\nthe country, leaving behind him his implements of war and the chase,\nhis culinary and domestic apparatus, and the rude carvings of his\nhands in caves and in rocks, as the principal evidences of his earthly\nexistence.\n\nBy competent critics the Australian is pronounced to be the most\ndegraded of human beings, and the lowest type of man. In reason, love,\ngenerosity, conscience and mere responsibility he is the inferior of\nmany of the lower animals, and in the erection of a house for comfort,\nshelter and security he is surpassed by creatures even as low in the\nscale as the worms and insects. It is true, when hunger has to be met,\nthat he has shown some skill in the manufacture of implements necessary\nto the obtainment of his food, and also in resisting the attacks of his\nown kind and of the natural enemies by which he is surrounded. There\nis no doubt that he is well satisfied with his condition in life, and\ncould hardly be induced to exchange it for another. He has doubtless\nfulfilled the purpose of his being in the world, and unable to cope in\nthe struggle for existence with a superior civilization must succumb\nto the latter which is better fitted to endure, a sad but impressive\nlesson which is the teaching of every chapter of the world\u2019s geologic\nstory.\n\n\n\n\nLIVING SOULS.\n\n\nAll things were made by the Word of God. In this Word was life, spirit\nor energy. Without it was not anything made that was made. Hence, says\nElihu, \u201cthe _Spirit_ of God hath made me, and the _breath_ of the\nAlmighty hath given me _life_;\u201d or, as Moses testifies, \u201cthe Lord God\nformed man, the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the\nbreath of lives; and _man_ became _a_ LIVING SOUL.\u201d\n\nNow, if it be asked what the Scriptures define a living soul to be, the\nanswer is a living natural, or animal body, whether of beasts, birds,\nfish or men. The phrase living creature is the exact synonyme of living\nsoul. The words _nephesh chayiah_ are in Hebrew the signs of the ideas\nexpressed by Moses, _nephesh_ signifying _creature_, _life_, _soul_, or\n_breathing frame_ from the verb _breathe_, and _chayiah_, a noun from\nthe verb _to live_, _of life_. _Nephesh chayiah_ is the genus which\nincludes all species of living creatures. In the common version of the\nScriptures, it is rendered _living soul_, and, therefore, under this\nform of expression they speak of all flesh which breathes in air, earth\nand sea.\n\nFrom the evidence adduced a man then is merely a body of life in the\nsense of his being an animal or living creature--_nephesh chayiah\nadam_. Therefore, as a natural man, he has no pre\u00ebminence over the\ncreatures God has made. Moses makes no distinction between him and\nthem, for he calls them all living souls, breathing the breath of\nlives. His language, literally rendered, says, \u201cand God said, the\nwaters shall produce abundantly _sheretz chayiah nephesh_ the _reptile\nliving soul_;\u201d and again, \u201c_kal nephesh chayiah erameshat_ every\nliving soul creeping.\u201d In another verse, \u201clet the earth bring forth\n_nephesh chayiah_ the living soul after its kind, cattle, and creeping\nthing, and beast of the earth after its kind,\u201d and \u201c_lekol rumesh ol\nearetz asher bu nephesh chayiah_ to everything creeping upon the earth\nwhich has in it living breath,\u201d that is, the breath of lives. And\nlastly, \u201cwhatsoever Adam called _nephesh chayiah_ the living soul that\nwas the name thereof.\u201d\n\nNot even are quadrupeds and men living souls, but they are vivified\nby the same breath and spirit. _Neshemet chayim_, or the _breath of\nlives_, and not the _breath_ of _life_ as the text of the common\nversion has it, is said to be in the inferior creatures as well as in\nman. _Chayim_ in the Hebrew is in the plural number, and therefore\nthe words _neshemet chayim_ should be rendered as above. Thus, God\nsaid, \u201cI bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy _all flesh_\nwherein is _ruach chayim_ spirit of lives.\u201d And in another place, \u201cthey\nwent in to Noah into the ark, two and two of _all flesh_, in which is\n_ruach chayim_ spirit of lives.\u201d And _all flesh_ died that moved upon\nthe earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every\ncreeping thing, and every man; all in whose nostrils was _neshemet\nruach chayim_, BREATH OF SPIRIT OF LIVES. Now, as has been previously\naffirmed, it was the _neshemet chayim_ with which God, according to the\ntestimony of Moses, inflated the nostrils of Adam. If, therefore, this\nwere a particle of the divine essence, as it is declared, which became\nthe immortal soul in man, then all other animals have likewise immortal\nsouls, for they all received breath of spirit of lives in common\nwith him. Begotten of the same Invisible Power, and formed from the\nsubstance of a common earth mother, man and beasts were animated by the\nsame spirit, and constituted to be _living breathing frames_, though\nof different species, and in God they lived, and moved, and had their\ncontinued being.\n\nReturning to the philology of our subject, it is to be remarked that\nby a metonymy, or a figure of speech where the container is put for\nthe thing contained, and conversely, _nephesh_, _breathing frame_,\nis put for _neshemet ruach chayim_, which, when in motion, causeth\nthe frame to respire. Hence _nephesh_ signifies not only _breath_ and\n_soul_, but also _life_, or those mutually affective, positive and\nnegative principles in all living creatures, whose closed circuits\ncause motion of and in their frames. By Moses these principles, or\nqualities of the same thing, are apparently styled the _Ruach Elohim_,\nor by Timothy the Spirit of Him \u201cwho only hath immortality, dwelling\nin the light which no man can approach unto, whom no man hath seen,\nnor can see,\u201d and which, when the word was spoken, first moved upon\nthe face of the waters, and afterwards disengaged the light, evolved\nthe expanse, gathered the waters together, brought forth the green\nvegetation, manifested the celestial universe, vitalized the breathing\nframes of the dry land, the firmament and the seas, and formed man\nin His own image and likeness. This _ruach_, or spirit, was the\ninstrumental principle commissioned by the glorious Increate for the\nelaboration of the natural world, the erection of this earthly house,\nand its equipment with living souls of every species; and it is this\nsame instrumentally formative power that, together with the _neshemeh_,\nor breath, that keeps them from perishing, or returning to the dust.\n\u201cIf God set his heart against man, He will withdraw to himself _ruachu\nveneshemetu_, that is, _His spirit and His breath_; all flesh shall\n\u201cperish together, and man shall turn again to dust.\u201d \u201cBy the _neshemet\nel_,\u201d or breath of God, \u201cfrost is given.\u201d Speaking of reptiles and\nbeasts, David saith, \u201cthou withdrawest _ruachem_--_their spirit_--they\ndie; and to their dust they return. Thou sendest forth _ruheck_--thy\nspirit--they are created.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: REPRESENTATIVE LIFE OF WESTERN ASIA.\n\nIllustrating the Scriptural Idea of Living Souls].\n\nFrom this cumulative evidence it is manifest that the _ruach_ is\nall-pervading. It is in heaven, in sheol, or in the dust of the deepest\nhollow; in the uttermost depths of the sea; in the darkness as well as\nin the light; in all things animate and inanimate. In the broadest, or\nI may say, in an illimitable sense, it is an _universal_ principle. It\nis the substratum of all motion, whether manifested in the revolutions\nof the planets, in the ebb and flow of the sea, in winds and storms and\ntempests, or in the organisms of plants and animals. The atmospheric\nexpanse is charged with it; but it is not the air. Animals and plants\nbreathe it, but it is not their breath; yet without it, though filled\nwith air, they would die. _Neshemet el_, or atmospheric air, is the\nbreath of God, as Job puts it, or the mighty expanse, as affirmed by\nMoses. What the _ruach_, or spirit, is, none with certainty can say.\nExtending from the centre of the earth, and thence in all directions\nthrough the immensity of space, is the _Ruach Elohim_, whose existence\nis demonstrable from the phenomena of the natural order of things.\nIt penetrates where _neshemet el_ cannot penetrate, but when speaking\nof the motivity and sustentation of organized dust, or souls, they\nco-exist with them, the _Ruach Elohim_ becoming the _ruach chayim_, or\nspirit of lives; the _neshemet el_, the _neshemet chayim_, or breath\nof lives, and both together in the elaboration and support of life,\nthe _neshemet ruach chayim_, or breath of the spirit of lives. Living\ncreatures, or souls, are not animated, as is erroneously supposed, by\na vital principle which is capable of disembodied existence. On the\ncontrary, souls are made living by the coetaneous operation of the\n_ruach chayim_ and the _neshemet chayim_ upon their organized tissues\naccording to certain fixed laws, called natural laws. When the as yet\noccult laws of the all-pervading _ruach_, or spirit, shall be made\nknown, men will be astonished at their ignorance respecting living\nsouls, as we are at the notion of the ancients that their immortal gods\nresided in the stocks and the stones they so ignorantly worshipped.\n\nThough lent to the creatures of the natural world for the allotted\nperiod of their living existence, yet the _ruach chayim_ and _neshemet\nchayim_ are still God\u2019s breath and God\u2019s spirit, and to distinguish\nthem from the expanse of air and spirit in their totality, they are\nsometimes specifically styled \u201cthe spirit of man\u201d and \u201cthe spirit of\nthe beast,\u201d or collectively \u201cthe spirits of all flesh,\u201d and \u201ctheir\nbreath.\u201d Thus it is written in Ecclesiastes, \u201cthey have all _one\nruach_, or spirit, so that man hath no pre\u00ebminence over a beast; for\nall is vanity or vapor.\u201d \u201cAll go to one place; all are of the dust, and\nall turn to dust again.\u201d And in the sense of supplying to every living\ncreature, or soul, spirit and breath, Jehovah is styled by Moses in the\nbook of Numbers,--\u201cGod of the _spirits_ of _all flesh_.\u201d\n\nEnough has been advanced to show the Scriptural import of the text\nalready quoted, that \u201cthe Lord God formed man, the dust of the ground,\nand breathed into his nostrils the breath of lives; and man became a\nliving soul.\u201d The simple, obvious and undogmatic meaning of this is,\nthat the dust being animalized, and then organized, was next set in\nmotion by the inrush of the air through his nostrils into his lungs\naccording to natural laws. This phenomenon was the _neshemet el_, or\n\u201cbreath of God,\u201d breathing into him; and as it was the pabulum of life\nto all creatures constituted of dust, it was very expressively styled\nthe \u201cbreath of _lives_,\u201d and not the \u201cbreath of _life_.\u201d God breathes\ninto every man at his birth the breath of lives to this day, and there\ncan be no reason, Scriptural or otherwise, why we should deny that\nHe breathed it into Adam as He hath done into the nostrils of his\nposterity by the operation of natural laws. Man, as soon as he began to\nrespire, like the embryo passing from f\u0153tal to infant life, \u201cbecame a\n_living soul_,\u201d that is, _nephesh chayiah_, a living, breathing frame,\nor _body of life_. All kinds of flesh, whether of man, beast, fowl and\ncreeping thing, are made alive by the same breath and spirit. They all\nbecome, in consequence, living souls, so that, having a _oneness of\nspirit_, a man hath no superiority over a beast.\n\nHaving now proved, as we think, beyond the possibility of a doubt,\nthat men and beasts \u201chave all one _ruach_, or spirit,\u201d and hence are\nall living souls, we now approach a form of life, termed vegetable\nlife, about which the Scriptures have little to say. _Neshemet el_, or\natmospheric air, is just as essential to plants as to animals. Deprived\nof it they wither and die. No less necessary is the all-pervading\n_ruach_, or spirit. It is in the air, though not of the air. Plants,\nequally with animals, breathe it, but it is not their breath. Without\nit, even though filled with air, they would perish. Perhaps it is the\nbase of each of the elementary constituents of the air. Uncombined,\nmay it not be that wonderful fluid whose explosions are heard in the\nthunder, whose fiery bolts overthrow the loftiest towers and rive the\nsturdy monarchs of the woods, and whose influence, though in less\nintensity, gives polarity to light, the needle, and the brain?\n\nLiving plants are a part and parcel of the life of our globe. They\npreceded in the grand scheme of creation animal existences. Low down\nin the scale of life are forms about which it cannot be predicated\nthese are plants and these are animals. Scientists are unable to say\nwhere plant-life ends and animal-life begins. No hard-and-fast line\ncan be drawn between the two vast kingdoms of life, and it is often\nwholly impossible to decide whether we are dealing with an animal or a\nplant. There can be no question that the earliest life was vegetable\nby nature, and that its habitat was the primeval ocean. This is no\nless the teaching of science than that of the Scriptures. From some\nsuch life, originating _de novo_ as the Spirit of God passed over the\nwaters, the two great branches of animate nature may have taken their\nrise. What the form of this life may have been, whether cellular or a\nmere mass of formless protoplasm, the mind of man cannot asseverate.\nIt is a mystery, and will doubtless ever remain as such to finite\nintelligence. That this life, no matter how apparently insignificant\nit must have been, breathed in its own simple fashion, that is, by the\ncoetaneous operation of the _ruach chayim_ and the _neshemet chayim_\nupon its simple substance in accordance with natural law, there can be\nno dispute. Breathing is not always conditioned by the existence of\nnostrils. Plants respire, or, in other words, take in carbonic acid\nfrom the air through their stomata, or mouths, which they separate into\nits components of carbon and oxygen, appropriating the former, which\nthey build into solid matter, but usually throwing off the latter into\nthe great receptacle of atmosphere from which it was extracted. Even\na moner, which has no distinction of parts, may be said to breathe,\nbut it breathes by means of its whole external surface, for _neshemeh_\nand _ruach_ are as necessary to it as to man himself. It will thus\nbe obvious that plants are living, breathing frames, or bodies of\nlife, and hence are as much entitled to be considered as living souls\nas animals are. Let but God withdraw his _ruach_, or spirit, from\nthem, and they die and to their dust return. Surely no more could be\npredicated of animals.\n\n\n\n\nCONSCIOUSNESS IN PLANTS.\n\n\nPlants, it has been vaguely asserted, differ from animals by not\nhaving the power of movement. Rather should it be stated that plants\nacquire and display this power when it is to their advantage. This\nwill be found to be of comparatively rare occurrence, as they are\naffixed to the ground, and food is brought to them by the air and rain.\nEvidence of the very high position a plant may attain in the scale\nof organization may be seen when we look at one of the more perfect\ntendril-bearers. As a polypus adjusts its tentacula for action, so a\nplant places its tendrils. If the tendril be displaced, it sets to\nwork to right itself. Acted on by the light, it bends towards or from\nit, or disregards it altogether, whichever course may be the most\nadvantageous. For several days the tendrils or internodes of the plant,\nor both, spontaneously or otherwise revolve with a steady motion. But\nshould they strike some object, they curl quickly around it, grasp it\nwith wonderful firmness, and in the course of a few hours contract into\nspirals, dragging up the stems, and forming most excellent springs. All\nexternal movements now cease, and by growth the tissues soon become\nsurprisingly strong and durable.\n\nSuch a movement, as has just been considered, is a widely prevalent\none in plants, and is essentially of the same nature as that of the\nstem of a climbing plant, which successively bends to all points of\nthe compass, so that the tip is made to revolve. This movement has\nbeen called _revolving nutation_ by some writers, and _circumnutation_\nby others. In the case of the circumnutating movement of the tip of\nthe radicle of some plants, there can be no doubt that it is it that\naffords the radicle some slight assistance in penetrating the ground.\nBut whether or not a radicle, when surrounded by softened earth, is\naided in making a passage for itself by circumnutating, one thing is\ncertain, that is, that this movement, by guiding the radicle along a\nline of least resistance, can hardly fail to be of high importance.\nShould, however, a radicle in its downward growth break obliquely into\nany crevice, or an opening left by a decayed root, or one made by the\nlarva of an insect, and more especially by worms, the circumnutating\nmovement of the tip will materially aid it in following such open\npassages. Not only our own observation, but also those of such eminent\nauthorities as Darwin and Hensen, conclusively show that roots commonly\nrun down the old burrows of worms.\n\nBut radicles of seedlings, as well as those of more vigorous plants,\nwould pass over stones, roots and other obstacles, which they must\nnecessarily encounter in the soil. This they are abundantly able to do,\nfor they are exceedingly sensitive just above their apices, and bend\nlike a tendril _towards_ the touching object. When, however, one side\nof the apex is pressed by any object, the growing part bends _away_\nfrom that object, and this seems a beautiful adaptation for avoiding\nobstacles in the soil, and for following the lines of least resistance.\n\n[Illustration: SEEDLING OF WINTER GRAPE.\n\nEarth Cut Away to Show Directions Taken by Tip of Radicle in Avoiding a\nStone.]\n\nSo feeble is the circumnutating movement of the terminal growing part,\nboth of the primary and secondary radicles, that it can assist them\nbut little in penetrating the ground, excepting when the superficial\nlayer is very soft and moist. But it must aid them materially when\nthey chance to break obliquely into cracks, or into burrows that\nhave been made by earth-worms or larv\u00e6. Moreover, combined as it is\nwith the sensitiveness of the tip of the radicle to contact, it can\nhardly fail to be of the highest importance, for as the tip is always\nendeavoring to bend to all sides, it will press on all sides, and will\nthus be able to discriminate between the harder and softer adjoining\nsurfaces. Consequently, it will tend to bend from the harder soil,\nand will thus take the directions of the least resistance. So it will\nact if it meet with a stone or the root of another plant in the soil,\nas must incessantly occur. If the tip were not sensitive, and did not\nexcite the upper part of the radicle to bend away, whenever obstacles\nwere encountered at right angles to its growing direction, it would\nundoubtedly be liable to be doubled up into a contorted mass. But with\nradicles growing down inclined plates of glass, as shown by experiment,\nit has been observed that as soon as the tip merely touched a slip\nof wood cemented across the plate, the entire terminal growing point\ncurved away, so that the tip soon stood at right angles to its former\ndirection; and thus, as far as the pressure of the surrounding soil\nwould permit, would it be with an obstacle encountered in the ground.\nThick and strong radicles, like those of the horse-chestnut, are\nendowed with less sensitiveness than more delicate ones, and would\ntherefore be the better able by the force of their growth to overcome\nany slight impediment to their progress. Further, as radicles perceive\nan excess of moisture in the air on one side and bend towards this\nside, it is reasonable to infer that they will act in a similar\nmanner with respect to moisture in the earth, for the sensitiveness\nof moisture resides in the tip, which determines the bending of the\nupper part. May not this capacity partly account for the extent to\nwhich drain-pipes often become choked with roots? The direction which\nthe apex takes at each successive period of the growth of a root,\nultimately determines its whole course. It is therefore very important\nthat the apex should follow from the first the most advantageous\ndirection. We can thus understand why sensitiveness to geotropism,\ncontact and moisture should all reside in the tip, and why it should\ndetermine the upper growing part to bend either from or to the exciting\ncause. Darwin has compared a radicle with a burrowing animal, such as\na mole, which wishes to penetrate vertically into the ground. By a\nprocess of circumnutation, or the movement of his head from side to\nside, he is enabled to feel any stone or other obstacle, as well as\nany difference in hardness of soil that may exist, and will therefore\nturn from that side; but if damper on one side than on the other, will\nturn thither as a more suitable hunting-ground. Nevertheless, after\neach interruption, he, guided by the sense of gravity, will be able to\nrecover his downward direction and to reach to a greater depth.\n\nDestruction of the tip of a radicle does not prevent the adjoining\npart from bending, if this part has already received some influence\nfrom the tip. As with a horizontally extended radicle, whose tip has\nbeen cut off or destroyed, the part which should bend most remains\nmotionless for many days or hours, even though exposed at right\nangles to the full influence of gravity, we cannot do otherwise than\nconclude that the tip alone is sensitive to this power, and transmits\nsome stimulus to the neighboring parts, thereby causing them to bend.\nDirect evidence of such transmission has been obtained. When a radicle\nwas left extended horizontally for an hour or an hour and a half, by\nwhich time the supposed influence will have travelled some distance\nfrom the tip, and the tip was then cut off, the radicle subsequently\nbecame bent, although it was placed in a perpendicular position.\nTerminal portions of several radicles thus treated continued for some\ntime to grow in the direction of their newly-acquired curvature, for\nbeing destitute of tips they were no longer acted upon by the power of\ngravity. New vegetative points, however, appeared, and being acted on\nby this influence coursed themselves perpendicularly downward as was\ntheir custom.\n\nInvestigation having shown that it is the tip of the radicle that is\nsensitive to geotropism in the members of such distinct families as\nthe Leguminos\u00e6, Malvace\u00e6, Cucurbitace\u00e6 and Gramine\u00e6, which may be\nrepresented by the Clover, Mallow, Gourd and Rye, we may justly infer\nthat this character is common to the roots of most seedling-plants.\nWhilst a root is penetrating the ground, the tip must take the\nincipient step, as it has to determine the direction of the entire\nroot. When, however, it is deflected by any subterranean obstacle, it\nis essential that a considerable length of the root should be able to\nbend, particularly as the tip itself grows slowly and bends but little,\nso that the proper downward course should be recovered. Immaterial as\nit would seem whether the entire growing part should be so sensitive\nto geotropism as to effect this movement, or that it should be brought\nabout by an influence transmitted exclusively from the tip, we should,\nhowever, remember that it is the tip that is sensitive to the contact\nof hard objects, causing the radicle to bend away from them, thus\ndirecting it along certain lines in the soil where the least opposition\ninterposes. It is again the tip that is alone sensitive, at least in\nsome instances, to moisture, causing the radicle to bend towards its\nsource. These last two kinds of sensitiveness conquer for a time the\nsensitiveness to geotropism, which, however, ultimately prevails. But\nthe three kinds most often come into antagonism, first one prevailing,\nand then the other. It would, therefore, be an advantage, perhaps a\nnecessity, for the interweighing and reconciling of these different\nkinds of sensitiveness, that they should all be localized in the same\ngroup of cells which have to transmit the command to the adjoining\nparts of the radicle, necessitating it to bend to or from the source of\nthe irritation.\n\nThough generally believed by authors that the modification of the upper\nor lower surfaces of a radicle, whereby curvature is induced in the\nproper direction, is the direct result of gravitation, yet there can be\nno question from all that has been said that it is the tip alone that\nis acted on and that transmits some influence to the adjoining parts,\ncausing them to curve in a downward manner. Gravity, it would seem,\ndoes not act in a more direct way on a radicle than it does on any\nlowly-organized animal, which moves away when it feels some weight or\npressure.\n\nWhen we consider what we have written, it is impossible not to be\nimpressed with the resemblance between the movements of plants and\nmany of the actions performed by the lower animals. With plants\nan astonishingly small stimulus suffices. One plant may be highly\nsensitive to the slightest continued pressure, while a closely-allied\nform just as highly sensitive to a slight momentary touch. The habit\nof moving at certain periods is inherited both by plants and animals;\nand other points of similitude have been specified. But the most\nstriking resemblance is the localization of their sensitiveness, and\nthe transmission of a stimulus from the exciting point to another,\nwhich consequently moves. Yet plants do not, of course, possess\nnerves or a central nervous system. May we not therefore infer, and\nwisely so, too, that with animals such structures but serve for the\nmore perfect transmission of impressions, and for the more complete\nintercommunication of their several parts?\n\nNo structure in plants seems more wonderful, as far as its functions\nare concerned, than the tip of the radicle. Lightly pressed or burnt\nor cut, it transmits an influence to the upper adjoining part, causing\nit to bend away from the affected side. But more surprising, however,\nis the fact that the tip can distinguish between a slightly harder\nand softer object, by which it is simultaneously pressed on opposite\nsides. Let the radicle be pressed by a similar object a little above\nthe tip, and it will be noticed that the pressed part does not transmit\nany influence to the more distant parts, but bends abruptly towards\nthe object. Perceiving the air to be moister on one side than the\nother, it likewise sends out an influence to the upper adjoining part,\nwhich deflects towards the source of the moisture. When excited by\nlight, the neighboring part bends from the light; but when excited by\ngravitation, the same part bends towards the centre of gravity. In\nalmost every instance the ultimate purpose or advantage of the several\nmovements can be clearly perceived. Two, or perhaps more, of the\nexciting causes often act simultaneously on the tip, and one conquers\nthe other, doubtless in accordance with its importance for the life of\nthe plant. The course pursued by the radicle in penetrating the ground\nbeing determined by the tip, has acquired for it the diverse kinds of\nsensitiveness which it possesses; and it is hardly an exaggeration to\nassert that the tip of the radicle thus endowed, and having the power\nto direct the movements of the adjoining parts, acts like the brain of\none of the lower animals, which organ, seated within the anterior end\nof the body, receives impressions from the sense-organs, and directs\ntheir several movements.\n\nIn animals possessed of a nervous system, contractions only follow\nstimuli, which are carried to the contractile elements by nervous\nthreads, the internal energy representing the external stimulus being\ncalled nervous energy or neurism. But where a nervous system does not\nexist, as is the case in some low animals and in all plants, external\nstimuli must be justly supposed to be converted into the same form of\nenergy, which in such organisms has a general circulation throughout\nthe contractile protoplasm. The attainment of some position, favorable\nfor the procurement of relief from some unpleasant sensation, or the\nacquisition of some agreeable one, or for both, is the important thing\ndirectly subserved by such movements in the generality of animals.\nWhile we have the best of reasons for believing this to be true in\nthe vast majority of animals, because fundamentally their structure\nis similar to our own, yet the inference that the same is true of the\nlowest forms of life is justifiable until it is proved to be mistaken.\n\nWhatever be the nature of any movement, whether the projecting of\nportions of its own body-substance as pseudopodia in the primitive\nanimal, the movement of flagella or cilia in more specialized forms,\nor the turning of the radicle of a plant-seedling in overcoming some\nobstacle, there is no resisting the conclusion that the functions of\nthese organs, when once called into existence, are due to stimuli\nnot unlike those which affect the motions of the limbs of the higher\nanimals, and that the preliminary to all such movements, which are\nnot automatic, is an effort. And as no adaptive movement is automatic\nthe first time it is performed, effort, therefore, may be regarded\nas the immediate source of all movement. Now, effort is a conscious\nstate, and implies a sense of resistance to be overcome. But when an\nact is performed without effort, resistance has been overcome, and the\nmechanism requisite for its performance has been completed. Automatism\nhas now been reached. New movements, in their incipiency, necessarily\nmeet with resistance. How this resistance is overcome, there seems to\nbe some diversity of opinion among physiologists and metaphysicians,\nbut it is generally believed that some such mental state as a sensation\nor a desire, which may or may not stimulate a natural process as an\nintervening element in the circuit, is concerned in its subduement.\nThat sense-perceptions are stimuli to the immediate appearance\nof structural changes or movements is shown by the production of\ncolor-changes in animals through changes in the condition of the organs\nof sight and in the bending of the radicle of a seedling-plant a short\ndistance above its tip in obedience to a communication from the tip of\na sensation of hardness, caused by contact with a stone experienced in\nits downward progress in the ground.\n\n[Illustration: TIP OF RADICLE OF SEEDLING MAPLE.\n\nLower Cells Show Where Consciousness is Supposed to Reside.]\n\nNew conditions bring forth new acts in animals. No one can deny this\nstatement, as instances of its truth are too frequent to believe\notherwise. That such may be predicated of plants, which have not the\nability, as a rule, to meet with new conditions by reason of their\nbeing affixed to the soil, very few persons are willing to admit;\nbut there is no getting away from the fact. The tip of the radicle of\na plant not only has the power, acting as a brain, as it would seem,\nof guiding the root out of the reach of an obstacle that would be\ninjurious, or in the direction of water when it would be an advantage,\nbut a tendril has also the ability, in obedience to some inherent\nforce, of making its way to a support that has been purposely placed\nin the near distance for its especial benefit. No external agencies,\nwhich the materialistic naturalist has devised for accounting for the\nmovements of plants and low types of animal existences that are devoid\nof a visible nervous system, can possibly explain these movements,\nwhich are only explicable on the theory that nervous energy may be\nelaborated and be distributed without such a system by and through the\ngeneral mass of the plant or animal, or by and through such parts as\nmay be necessary to its good.\n\nNo one who has experimented with the Droseras or Sundews, can have\nfailed to observe the extreme sensitiveness which resides in their\nleaves. That these plants manifest a comparatively high order of\nconsciousness, there can be no question. Try them with insects, or rare\nbits of meat, as articles of diet, and in a few hours, if vigorous\nleaves have been experimented with, the leaves will have folded around\nthe food and commenced their curious process of assimilation. Mineral\nsubstances, such as bits of chalk, magnesia and small pebbles, have no\nsuch effect. They seem to ignore these things, just as an intelligent\nanimal would if they were placed by its side. Some experiments made\nby Mrs. Treat, several summers ago, go far to confirm the statement\nthat plants are endowed with some sort of consciousness. _Drosera\nfiliformis_ was the species used in her experiments. Some living flies\nwere pinned one-half an inch from the leaves, but near their apical\nextremities. In forty minutes the leaves had perceptibly bent toward\nthe flies, and in little more than an hour had reached the prey, the\nlegs of the latter being entangled and held fast by the tentacles of\nthe leaves. Next, the flies were removed three-quarters of an inch\nfurther from the leaves, but the latter, even though bent away from\nthe direction of the light, failed to reach them at this distance.\nWhat was it that induced the leaves to stretch in the direction of the\nflies? Had the sun been shining from that side, it might be said that\nthe movement of the leaves was influenced by its light and heat, for\nplants as a general rule turn toward that part of the heavens where\nthese energies are the most effective. It cannot be that they were\nproduced by some emanation of moisture from the bodies of the flies,\nor by any influence that might be exercised by the vibratory movements\nof their wings. No vain imaginings of such character will suffice for\ntheir explanation. The energy necessary to explain this phenomenon\nmust come from within the leaves themselves. There was felt within\nthem a desire for food, and it was this desire that led the leaves to\nbend away from the light and in the direction of the objects whose\npresence created in them that sensation. But how they were able, in the\nabsence of any visible sense-organs, to determine the presence of these\nobjects, is difficult to surmise. That they are sensitive to contact is\ngenerally conceded. And in them, no doubt, the sense of touch is keenly\ndeveloped. Granting this to be the truth, then they see, as a blind\nman sees, by the sense of feeling. Currents of air, established by the\nvibration of the insect\u2019s wings, impinging upon the epidermis of the\nleaves, affect the cells beneath, and a nervous influence is started,\nguided by some central agency, of which we know nothing, causing the\nleaves to bend in the proper direction. But why the leaves do not\nthus bend when impinged upon by currents other than those produced\nby insects, I am unable to say. Even as a blind man, though deaf, is\nable through the sense of touch to discriminate moving objects by the\ncurrents of air they excite, so it may be presumed that the leaves of\nDrosera are endowed with the same wonderful and intelligent capacity.\nSuch a feeling once experienced would be apt to be known again, for\nit would become fixed in consciousness by a process of memory. That\nDrosera, whose habits are more animal-like than plant-like, must occupy\na high position in the scale of vegetable life, there can be no reason\nto doubt from what has been said, and this assumption receives a most\nremarkable confirmation from the fact that there are evidences, not\napparent however, of a sort of nervous system in its make-up, as shown\nby the discovery of Darwin that by pricking a certain point in a leaf\none-half of its substance becomes paralyzed.\n\nWonderful as these facts are, yet they are not more so than some\nrecent discoveries made by Stahl while studying the simple movements\nand physical conditions of certain low plants called Myxomycetes. In\ntheir young stages these plants wander from the parts of the deposit\non which they are creeping, and which are gradually drying up, toward\nthose which are more moist. It is possible, by bringing moist bodies\nin proximity to any ramifications, to produce pseudopodia, which lift\nthemselves from the deposit, and soon come into contact with the moist\nobject, so as to enable the whole mass of the plasmodium, that is, the\nlarge, motile, membranous protoplasmic body formed by the coalescence\nof the swarm-spores of the Myxomycetes, to migrate thereon. But on\nthe entrance of the plasmodia into the fructifying condition, the\nMyxomycete quits the moist deposit, technically called the substratum,\nand creeps upwards on to the surface of dry objects. Unequal\ndistribution of warmth in the substratum and unequal supplies of oxygen\nand chemical substances soluble in water also cause locomotion in these\nstrange organisms. Let the plasmodia come into contact on one side\nwith solutions of saltpetre, carbonate of potash or common salt, and\nthey at once withdraw from the dangerous spot; but an infusion of tan,\nor a dilute solution of sugar, causes a flow of the protoplasm and an\nultimate translocation of the entire plasmodial mass towards the source\nof nourishment. Some solutions have an attractive or repulsive effect,\nbut this is in accordance with the degree of their concentration.\nUnlike what is so natural to plants in general, the Myxomycetes seem to\nhave an aversion to light, as shown by their disposition to withdraw\nfrom its presence.\n\nHow such tender structures as the Myxomycetes, which are destitute\nof every kind of external protection, are enabled to carry on their\nexistence, the knowledge of the remarkably delicate reaction of\ntheir plasmodia under external influences prepares us to understand.\nPlasmodia, which are not yet ripe for reproduction, are kept in the\nmoist substratum by their peculiar affection for moisture and utter\ndislike of the light. But within the darkness and moisture of the\nsubstratum the plasmodia do not necessarily remain in one place,\nfor the differences in the chemical composition of the substratum\ncause continual migrations. Nothing more remarkable can be said of\nthe plasmodia than that they have a wonderful faculty of avoiding\nharmful substances, and, traversing the substratum in all directions,\nof taking up the materials they require for food and growth. When,\nhowever, their internal changes have advanced so far that the plasmodia\nare approaching the fructifying condition, they are brought by their\ndislike for moisture, which now sets in, from the moist ground of\nforest or wood which they affect to the surface, where they creep up\nvarious upright objects, frequently not doing more than forming rigid\nreproductive capsules at some height from the ground. If, however, the\nsubstratum becomes gradually colder, as is the case in autumn, a change\nwhich sets in at the surface moving downwards, then the plasmodia\nmigrate into deeper regions still having a higher temperature; but when\nthe cooling proceeds very gradually, which especially happens in large\ntan-heaps, the plasmodia may in their migration attain considerable\ndepths, where they then change into sclerotia, which are hard tuberous\nsubstances, resembling the tubers and bulbs of flowering plants.\nIf, however, the temperature begins to ascend, the sclerotia again\ngerminate, and movement takes place from the deeper and cooler parts\nto the upper already named.\n\nThus we see, in the locomotion of the Myxomycetes, extremely\ninteresting cases of movements due to stimulation. Light, heat,\nmoisture and gravitation are, in general, stimulus-movements, and\nultimately all growth depends on stimulus-movement, the most primitive\nkind of protoplasmic movement. No causes other than those which\nactuate higher organisms can be discerned to account for this lowest\ntype of organic movement. What form of inorganic energy can be cited\nof sufficient potency to cause the organism to change, and without\nregard to gravitation or any known form of attraction or repulsion,\nits position in obedience to stimuli acting for its self-preservation?\nThere is none. In the Fuligo, or Tan Flower, a most remarkable example\nof designed movement has been observed. This form will, according\nto H. J. Carter, in its early am\u0153bula stage, when isolated from the\nsawdust and chips of wood among which it has been living, adapt itself\nto the water of a watch-glass, or any other shallow vessel, in which\nit may happen to be placed. But, if the watch-glass be placed upon the\nsawdust, then it will make its way over the side of the glass to get to\nthe sawdust. Here is probably shown a sense-perception of the presence\nand position of the tan-bark, as well as a feeling of desire to go to\nit. May not this desire have been due to a sense of discomfort induced\nby the surrounding water, or to the calling up in memory of some\nsuperior comfort associated with the tan-bark?\n\nMan in his self-complacency thinks that he knows the plants about\nhim. It is true that he has noted their form, their anatomy, their\ncolor and their resemblances and differences, but how few have studied\nthem in meadow and woods by the light of a lantern at night or by\nthe silver rays of the moon. One feels on such an occasion as though\nhe had stepped from his threshold upon a foreign soil. Folded leaves\nand strange sleeping forms will be found to confront you in every\ndirection. Of the nature of the nocturnal movements of plants, as well\nas their varied and curious attitudes, both in leaves and flowers,\nmuch speculation has been rife among botanists. In many flowers the\nnight attitudes have been conclusively shown to have relation solely\nto their fertilization by insects; but the drooping night attitudes\nof the leaves were supposed to indicate an aversion to moisture, many\nplants seemingly verifying the conjecture by the assumption of the\nsame position during rain as in the dew. But when the same pranks were\nplayed on a cloudy day or a dewless night, the explanation had to be\nabandoned. With the clovers, the nocturnal positions of the heads seem\nto be assumed only in the darkness, and this invariably, dew or no dew,\nwhile the leaves appear to revel in the rain, remaining freely open,\ntheir chief concern being the protection of the young blossom-clusters.\n\nWere our eyes sharp enough we might discern a certain strangeness\nin the nocturnal expression of every plant and tree. But in no tree\nis this expression so remarkably emphasized as in the locust, a\nmember of the same leguminous order of plants with the clover. These\ntrees are especially noted for the pronounced irritability of their\nleaves, and odd nocturnal capers, whose seeming vital consciousness\nhas induced some authorities to place them at the extremity of their\nsystem, in contact with the limits of the animal kingdom. How strange\nthe pigweeds look at night! Their upper leaves, which during the day\nhad extended wide on their long stems, now incline upward against the\nstalk, enclosing the tops of the younger branches, but still older\nplants are seen with leaves extended much as at mid-day, but nearly all\nturned edgewise by a twist in the stem. Circling in a close curve, the\ncreeping-mallow blossom now ignores her proud array of cheeses, and\nthe oxalis flower has forgotten her shooting pods to keep the vigil,\nclosed and nodding upon her stem, while her leaves masquerade in one\nof the oddest disguises, their three heart-shaped leaflets being seen\nreflexed and adjusting themselves back to back around the stem with\nmany contortions. Whatever the function of this strange nocturnal\nmovement may be, and it is still a matter of dispute with botanists,\none thing we are certain about, that is, its essential condition to the\nlife of the plant, careful experiment having demonstrated, according\nto one authority, that \u201cif the leaves are prevented from so regulating\ntheir surface, they lose their color and die in a few days\u201d--a fact\nwhich Darwin has just as conclusively shown to be the case with other\nplants.\n\nFlowers that bloom by night could hardly be suspected of that vanity\nwhich Rhodora has been made to confess by Emerson in his beautiful\nlines to this flower. Our evening primrose does not bloom in the\ndark hours for mere sentiment or moonshine, but from a nature which\nlies, figuratively speaking, much nearer her heart. \u201cOften when the\nnights are very dark,\u201d says an old writer, \u201cher petals emit a mild\nphosphorescent light, and look as if illuminated for a holiday. And\nhe who does not fear to be out in her mild and lovely haunt may see a\nvariety of nocturnal ephemer\u00e6 hovering around the lighted petals, or\nsipping at the flowery fountains, while others rest among the branches\nor hurry up the stems as if fearing to be too late.\u201d From the first\nmoment of her wooing welcome it would seem that our evening primrose\nlistens for murmuring wings, and awaits that supreme fulfilment\nwith joyous expectancy, for it will invariably be found that these\nblossoms, which open in the twilight, have adapted themselves to\ncrepuscular moths and other nocturnal insects, a fact which finds a\nstriking illustration in the instances of very long tubular-shaped\nnight-blooming flowers, like the honeysuckle and divers orchids, whose\nnectar is beyond the ability of any insect but a night-flying hawk-moth\nto attain. True, it is, that in other less deep nocturnal flowers the\nsweets could be reached by butterflies or bees if the blossoms were\nleft open. But the night-murmurers receive the first invitation, which,\nif accepted, leaves but a wilted, half-hearted blossom to welcome the\nsipper of the sunshine. This beautiful expectancy, somehow or other,\ndetermines the limit of its bloom. However, in the event of rain or\nother causes preventive of insect visits, the evening primrose will\nremain open for the attention of the butterflies during the ensuing\nday, when otherwise it would have perceptibly drooped, and extended\nto them but a listless welcome. Most strikingly may this fact be seen\nillustrated in a spray of mountain-laurel. For nearly a week have I\nobserved in my house these blossoms lingering in patient expectancy,\nwhen the flowers on the parent shrub in the woods had fallen several\ndays before, their mission in life having been fulfilled. In the house\nspecimens the radiating stamens, which are naturally dependent upon\ninsects for their release, and the consequent discharge of the pollen,\nremained in their pockets on the side of the blossom-cup, a support,\nas it seemed, for the bracing up of the corolla upon its receptacle.\nBut when the operation of releasing the stamens was artificially\nconsummated, the flower-cup soon dropped off or withered upon the\npeduncle.\n\nNot mainly has the writer, in attributing a phosphorescent quality\nto the evening primrose, followed the license of fancy, for, if\nscientists are to be believed, the regular luminous glow of this\nand other nocturnal flowers has long attracted the attention of the\ncurious, and positive qualities of inherent light have been accorded\nin many instances. It is true, as one authority asserts, that \u201cthe\nevening primrose is perfectly visible in the darkest night,\u201d from\nwhich fact phosphorescent properties have been ascribed to it. Many\nwell-authenticated cases are on record of luminous, electrical,\nlightning-like phosphorescence playing about flowers, the daughter\nof Linn\u00e6us having been the first one to note such an interesting\nphenomenon. Similar flashes or corona have been observed in\nnasturtiums, double marigold, geraniums, red poppy, tuberose, sunflower\nand evening primrose. According to various authorities, and it would be\na rash and presumptuous commentator who would dare to challenge such\nan array of competence, many beautiful surprises await the traveller\namong the dewy shadows. Whoever has made such a journey will not only\nreturn with the consciousness that he has doubled his possessions, but\nthat he has also explored a new world--a realm which he can look in\nthe face on the morrow with an exchange of recognition that was truly\nimpossible yesterday.\n\nWhether or not all the facts that have been adduced show that plants\nare conscious organisms in the particulars for which it is claimed,\nit matters not, for enough have been set forth to demonstrate beyond\nthe shadow of a doubt the position that they are endowed with a\nconsciousness, no matter how infinitesimally small a part it plays\nin nature. Everyday observation of the botanist teaches the fact.\nSensation, which is consciousness, has preceded in time and in history\nthe evolution of the greater part of plants and animals, unicellular\nand multicellular, and, therefore, if kinetogenesis, or the doctrine of\nthe effects of molar motion, be true, \u201cconsciousness,\u201d as Cope alleges,\n\u201chas been essential to a rising scale of organic evolution.\u201d Animals\nwhich do not perform simple acts of self-preservation must necessarily,\nsooner or later, perish. Impossible it is to understand how the lowest\nforms of life, wholly dependent as they are on physical conditions of\nmany kinds, should to-day exist if they were not possessed of some\ndegree of consciousness under stimuli at least. We have but to picture\nto ourselves the condition of a vertebrate, without general or special\nsensation, would we obtain a clear perception of the essentiality of\nconsciousness to its existence. If now use, as has been maintained,\nhas modified structure, and so, in co\u00f6peration with the environment,\nhas directed evolution, we can understand the origin and development\nof useful organs, and also how, by parasitism, or some other mode\nof gaining a livelihood without exertion, the adoption of new and\nskilful movements would be unnecessary, and consciousness itself seldom\naroused, for continual repose would be followed by sub-consciousness,\nand later by unconsciousness. Such appears to be largely the history\nof degeneracy everywhere, and such is, perhaps, in a great measure\nthe history of the entire vegetable kingdom, for plants, from their\nability to manufacture protoplasm from inorganic substances, do not\nbodily move about in quest of food as animals generally do, and\ntherefore require no conscious conditions, it would seem, to guide\ntheir movements. They become fixed, and their entire organization,\nexcept in specialized instances, becomes monopolized by the functions\nof nutrition and reproduction. Their movements are mostly rhythmic or\nrotary, but that they exhibit the quality of impromptu design more\nfrequently than scientists are willing to allow must be admitted, or\nfacts and the conclusions which naturally flow therefrom constitute\nno criteria of judging. Too much stress, I fear, is placed in these\ndays upon the action of certain supposed forces that are resident in\nthe plant\u2019s or animal\u2019s environment in accounting for its behavior, to\nthe utter exclusion of any energy that may be acting from within the\norganism itself. \u201cThat consciousness as well as life preceded organism,\nand has been the _primum mobile_ in the creation of organic structure,\u201d\nas Cope assumes, there is no doubt; but that it early abandoned the\nvegetable world, and also that all the energies of vegetable protoplasm\nsoon became automatic, causing plants in general to become sessile,\nand therefore parasitic and in one sense degenerate, I cannot wholly\naccept. That insects have, in the matter of evolution of plant-types,\nexerted considerable influence on the conditions of almost all of their\norgans, the forms of the organs of fructification and especially of the\nflowers, through certain stimuli and strains to which they have become\nsubjected by reason of these insects and their occupancy of parts as\ndwelling-places, there can be no doubt; and it is probable also, as has\nbeen maintained, that we owe to insects, directly or indirectly, not\nonly the forms, but also the colors of the flowers, and their odors and\npeculiar markings as well. And thus while degeneracy, as observed in\nthe abortion of ovules, carpels and perianth, may be seen everywhere,\nwhich the influences that have acted upon them have induced, yet it is\nthe height of presumption to assert that consciousness has entirely\nabandoned the members of the vegetable kingdom, and that they are\nreduced to the condition of mere automata. It is true, as has been\nclaimed, that the permanent and the successful forms of organization\nhave ever been those in which motion and sensibility have been\npreserved, as well as the most highly developed; and just as true it\nis that plants, even though fixed to the soil and unable to effect a\nchange of environment in consequence, are not so incapable of conscious\nactions as not to be able to meet any changes, and these changes do\nvery often occur, that climate, new conditions of soil, helps or\nhindrances to growth and wear, may bring about. That they must adapt\nthemselves to such changes, or perish in their struggle to exist, none\ncan question. It is not enough to say that natural selection affords\nan explanation of every phenomenon that they may exhibit. There is an\nenergy within the plant, think and write as we will, and it is this\nthat comes to its aid and directs the movement that will be productive\nof the most good.\n\nConcluding, then, let me aver that no plant can exist or fulfil its\nallotted part in the drama of life without the possession of some form\nor degree of consciousness. If it be true that life and consciousness\npreceded organization, and the statement can hardly be disputed, and\nhave been the _primum mobile_ in the creation of organic structure,\nwhat reason, seeing that life necessarily persists in vegetable\norganism, can be given for their dissociation in existing forms of\nplants, as seems to be the tendency of modern scientific thought?\nThat plants once possessed consciousness, there can be no difference\nof opinion. Well, then, what has become of this consciousness? It\ncould not have been destroyed, for energy or force, and consciousness\ncertainly must be placed under this category, can never be destroyed.\nI repeat the question. What has become of it? Either it exists in the\nplant in a dormant condition, awaiting opportunities to call it into\nexistence, or it has returned to the great Source of all consciousness,\nwhence each individual organism, whether of plant or animal, obtained\nits _quantum_. It still exists, but how or under what conditions,\nI cannot affirm, and is to plants what mind is to man and animals,\ncontrolling their actions when such are for their well-being and good.\nIf mind persists in a future state, then consciousness, which may be\nconsidered as mind in plants, must also persist, for it is not at all\nlikely that the Source of all consciousness, which we worship as God,\nthe Creator of all things, could be unmindful of the least of His\nchildren.\n\n\n\n\nMIND IN ANIMALS.\n\n\nThat the lower animals are in possession of all the characters of the\nmind or soul that are either the inherited or acquired properties of\nman, some evidence will now be adduced. Foremost among these qualities\nis Reason. Much vagueness of idea exists as to what constitutes reason,\nthe general tendency being to confound it with instinct, and to wonder\nwhere the one ends and the other begins. Hundreds of anecdotes, too\nfamiliar for mention, might be instanced, which have been described as\nwonderful examples of instinct, but which, upon careful examination,\nhave been shown to be undoubted proofs of reason. That disposition of\nmind by which, independent of all instruction or experience, animals\nare unerringly directed to do spontaneously whatever is necessary\nfor the preservation of the individual or the continuation of the\nspecies, is instinct. It is instinct that teaches the newly-born child\nto breathe, or to seek its mother\u2019s breast and obtain its nourishment\nby suction. Instinct teaches the bird how to make its nest after the\nmanner of its kind, but it is reason that leads it to construct a\nfabric radically different from the typical form. Taking the case of\ninsects, there can be no doubt that it is instinct that teaches the\ncaterpillar to make its cocoon, to remain there until it has developed\ninto an imago, and then to force its entrance into the world. Ducks,\nthough hatched under a hen, instinctively make their way to the water,\nwhile chickens, though hatched under a duck, instinctively keep away\nfrom it. Man, as well as the lower animals, has his instincts, but very\nfew of them are apparent, for he is able to bring the most of them\nunder subjection by the power of his reason. Some, however, remain and\nassert themselves throughout the entire period of his life.\n\nThere is the widest possible difference between reason and instinct,\nthe former being an exercise of the will, while the latter is\nindependent thereof. Instinct comes in at birth, but reason is an\nafter-growth of the mind. No exercise of thought does instinct require,\nbut when the mind reasons some conclusion is deduced from the premises\nwhich it has assumed. All animals, in common with ourselves, possess\nthe power of reasoning, although in a less degree. It is by the\nsuperiority of our reason over theirs that we maintain our supremacy.\nFalse premises often lead to wrong deductions, but their process is\nstill one of pure reason. With them, as well as with ourselves, reason,\nespecially in the case of domestic animals, often conquers instinct,\nand so by contact with a higher order of reason, that of man\u2019s, their\nown is more fully developed. They, in a sense, become civilized. Let\na hungry dog and a cat be left in a room where food is unguarded,\nand their instincts will urge them to jump upon the table and help\nthemselves. But if they have been trained, their reason restrains their\ninstinct, and, no matter how hungry they may be, they will not touch\nthe food until it is given to them. Some few years ago a matronly lady\nand her dog, a beautiful pug, were accustomed to take their dinner at a\nsaloon which the writer daily visited. The dog was given a chair on the\nside opposite his mistress. He was a well-mannered animal, and never\nduring his many visits to the place did he ever violate the laws of\ngood manners. Patiently he would wait until the food was put upon his\nplate, and not even then would he take it, for he had been taught that\nit was something that should not be hastily seized and eaten. The idea\nthat food cost money was distinctly impressed upon his mind, and this\nthe owner did by thrice repeating, \u201cThis cost money.\u201d It was evident\nthat the dog understood what was said from the thoughtful look he gave\nher. In a little while he was given the command to eat, but, like the\ncultured he was, everything was done orderly and decently. Almost any\nanimal can be thus trained to subject its natural instincts to its\nreason.\n\nFishes are not known to possess much reason. There is not an angler,\nnevertheless, that will not tell you that he has had the powers of his\nmind taxed to the utmost in his efforts to induce an old and wary trout\nto take the bait, and even when he has succeeded in hooking him, it has\ngreatly tried his genius for planning to prevent the fish from breaking\nhis line. Natural instinct teaches a fish to fly from man, and even\none\u2019s shadow on the water will frighten away the fish and destroy an\nangler\u2019s hopes of success. Yet we have seen a pond full of gold-fish\nwhich were quite tame, and which, when they saw a human being at the\nside of the pond, would come forward instead of showing alarm. They\nwere so perfectly confiding that they would take a piece of bread or\nbiscuit out of his hand. Here, then, is an example of the instinct,\nwhich urges them to flee from man, being overcome by the reason, which\ntells them to approach him.\n\nAnimals of burden may often be seen attending to prescribed work\nwithout any supervision. Dray-horses, as is well known, sometimes take\npleasure in their work. I knew of a horse of the kind that was as much\ninterested, apparently, his work as his owner. He never had to be told\nwhen to move, for all the while the dray was loading he was observant\nof everything, and, knowing the capacity thereof, was ready when the\nlook from the master told him to proceed. Horses have sometimes shown a\nknowledge of the amount of work they are supposed to perform in a day.\nA case has been cited of a horse by Mr. Wood that was capable of doing\nhis work without a driver. He belonged to the owner of an American\nmine. As soon as his cart was filled with ore, at a given signal he\nwent off to the spot where the ore was to be dumped, waited until the\ncart was unloaded, and then returned for another load. So many loads\nhad to be carried daily, and, strange to relate, the animal knew when\nhis task was finished as well as any of the men. When the last load for\nthe day was deposited, he could be seen trotting off in the direction\nof home, where he knew he would receive a kind reception from his\nmistress.\n\n[Illustration: WONDERFUL EQUINE INTELLIGENCE.\n\nA Horse That Knew When His Day\u2019s Work Was Done.]\n\nEnough has been said to show that animals have and do exercise powers\nof reason. That they have the means of transmitting ideas to their\nfellows is not to be questioned. Language is the means of transmission.\nNot only are they able to interchange thoughts with each other, but\nwith man also when they are brought into contact with him. They must\npossess a language of some kind, whereby they can understand each\nother, can comprehend human language, and make themselves intelligible\nto man. All these conditions are fulfilled in the lower animals, but\nthere is one distinction between the capability of understanding their\nown language and that of man, and that is, that they are born with the\none and have to learn the other. Newly-hatched chickens, although they\nhave only entered the world an hour or so ago, understand perfectly\nwell their mother. They know what to do when she calls them to find\nwhat food she has unearthed, and they know what to do when she warns\nthem of danger. Who has not heard them talk to her? But how different\nare their tones under various circumstances. The little piping notes of\ncontent when all is going on well can never be confounded with the cry\nof alarm when they have lost their way or are otherwise frightened.\n\nWasps, as everybody knows who has studied these insects, carry out one\nof the first principles of military art. They always have the gate of\ntheir fortress guarded by a sentinel. Should danger be imminent, the\nalarm is given by the sentinel, and out rush the inhabitants to wreak\nvengeance upon the offender. Out of a full-sized nest, consisting of\nmany hundred wasps, it is evident that the individual who is to act as\nsentinel must be selected, and its task appointed. How the selection is\nmade, no one knows. But that such is done, there can be no question,\nfor the rest of the community acknowledge their sentinel, trust to it\nfor guarding the approaches of the nest, while they busy themselves\nwith the usual task of collecting food for the young and new material\nfor the nest.\n\nNearly related to wasps are the ants. Some of their performances are\ntruly astonishing. They have armies commanded by officers, who issue\norders, insist on obedience, and will not permit, while on the march,\nany of the privates to stray from the ranks. There are other ants\nwhich till the ground, weed it, plant the particular grain on which\nthey feed, cut it when ripe, and store it in their subterranean\ngranaries. Arrant slaveholders are others, who make systematic raids\nupon neighboring species, carry off their yet unhatched cocoons, and\nrear them in their own nests to be their servants. Somewhat recent\ndiscoveries show that there are ants which bury their dead. Two pairs\nof bearers are chosen to carry the corpse, one pair relieving the other\nwhen tired, while the main body, often several hundred in number,\nfollow behind. So much could be said about ants, so closely do their\nperformances resemble the customs of human civilization, that the\nsubject could never grow uninteresting, but we must, for the present,\nforbear. All these various performances could not be possible were\nthere not some way by which communication, or interchange of ideas,\ncould be carried on among the individual members of the same community.\nSometimes one species of ant is capable of carrying on a conversation,\nso to speak, with another. Bees, wasps and ants are the best linguists\nof the insect race, their language being chiefly conducted by means of\ntheir antenn\u00e6.\n\nWho has not often observed two dogs, members of the same household,\nholding sweet converse with each other? Pug and Gyp were two animals\nthat belonged to the family where I spent a summer vacation. They\nthought much of each other when romping together in the yard, or in\nforaging the neighboring woods and fields for rabbits and ground-hogs.\nNever would they start out on an expedition for game without having\npreviously laid their plans. It was interesting and amusing to watch\nthem. They would bring their heads into close contiguity, remaining\nin this position for two or three minutes, when, by mutual consent,\nthey would separate, look each other in the eyes, and then start off\nin different directions for the scene of their projected enterprise.\nTimes out of number I have observed such behavior and have always\ndiscovered that they meant something of the kind. There were no audible\nutterances, no visible gestures, yet there was an interchange of\nideas. Through the medium of the eye were the thoughts conveyed. It\nwas spirit speaking directly to spirit, conveying by a single glance of\nthe eye thoughts which whole volumes would fail to express.\n\nEach species of animal has its own dialect. Yet there is another\nlanguage, a sort of animal _lingua franca_, which is common to all.\nA cry of warning, no matter from what bird or animal it emanates, is\nunderstood by them all, as is well known to many a sportsman who has\nlost his only chance of a shot by reason of an impertinent crow, jay or\nmagpie which has espied him, and has given its cry of alarm. There is\nnot a bird of garden or orchard, or a fowl of the barnyard or doorside,\nthat does not understand the peculiar cry of the rooster when a hawk is\nseen careering overhead, or perched upon the summit of a near-by tree.\nWith one accord they flee to their coverts, and there remain until the\ndanger is past.\n\nNo more quarrelsome and pugnacious species of bird exists than\nthe English sparrow. He appropriates every available locality for\nnesting purposes, and our native species are driven to the necessity\nof fighting for their rights, or of seeking quarters in the rural\ndistricts which these birds do not infect. Thus it is that many a\nuseful robin, bluebird or martin is driven from our midst. Many have\nwitnessed encounters between these birds and the robins. The author\nonce saw a contest between a pair of sparrows and a pair of robins for\nthe possession of a certain tree that grew in his yard. Now the robin,\nsingle-handed, is more than a match for a sparrow. In the engagement\nreferred to, the robins were getting the better of the sparrows, which\nthe latter were not slow in perceiving. Instantly the sparrows set up\nthe wild, ear-piercing harangue for which they are peculiarly noted,\nwhen more than a score of friends from the immediate vicinity gathered\nto their assistance. But the war-cry which they sounded not only\nsummoned help to their standard, but it was equally understood by all\nthe other birds of the neighborhood, who flocked to the defence of\ntheir brethren against the alien. The battle waged warm and fiercely\nfor some minutes, when the sparrows were forced to seek safety in\nretreat.\n\nNot only can crows and rooks assemble, hold council and agree to act on\nthe result of their deliberations, but other birds are known to do the\nsame things. Birds are able to communicate their thoughts to each other\nby means of a language, but it is not likely that in their language,\nor the language of animals in general, there are any principles of\nconstruction such as are possessed by all human languages. But the\nsame effect may be produced by different means, and the reader will\nsee that in the above instance no human language, however perfect\nits construction, could have served its purpose better than did the\ninarticulate language of the sparrows. They told their friends that\ntheir territory was usurped by an intruder too strong to be ejected\nby them, and implored their assistance. But while it told them this,\nit did still more, for it conveyed the report to their numerous foes,\nwho winged their way to the support of their opponents. In fact,\nwhenever animals of any kind form alliances and act simultaneously for\none common purpose, it is evident that language of some sort must be\nemployed.\n\nThat beasts possess a language, which enables them to communicate\ntheir ideas to each other, has been clearly shown. It is just as\napparent that they can act upon the ideas so conveyed. We have now to\nsee whether they can convey their ideas to man, and so bridge over\nthe gulf between the higher and the lower beings. Were there no means\nof communicating ideas between man and animals, domestication, it is\ntrue, would be impossible. Every one who has possessed and cared for\nsome favorite animal must have observed that they can do so. Their\nown language becomes in many instances intelligible to man. Just as\na child, that is unable to pronounce words, can express its meaning\nby intimation, so a dog can do the same by its different modes of\nbarking. There is the bark of joy or welcome, when the animal sees\nits master, or anticipates a walk with him; the furious bark of anger,\nif the dog suspects that anyone is likely to injure himself or his\nmaster, and the bark of terror when the dog is suddenly frightened at\nsomething which it cannot understand. Supposing, now, that its master\ncould not see the dog, but could only hear its bark, would he not\nknow perfectly well the ideas which were passing through the animal\u2019s\nmind? Most certainly he would. There is a difference between the mew\nof distress and the ordinary conversation, the purr of pleasure, of a\ncat. A pet canary always knows how to call its mistress, and when it\nsees her will give a glad chirrup of recognition quite distinct from\nits ordinary call. Bees and wasps have quite a different sound in their\nwings when angry than when in the discharge of their ordinary work. Any\none conversant with their ways understands the expression of anger and\nmakes the best of his way off.\n\nAll the foregoing are but examples of sound-language. The\ngesture-language of animals, however, is wonderfully extensive and\nexpressive. A cat, could it say in plain words, \u201cPlease open the door\nfor me,\u201d could not convey its ideas more intelligently than it does\nby going to the door, uttering a plaintive mew to show that it wants\nhelp, and then patting the door. Dogs, or, in fact, all animals that\nare accustomed to live in the house, will act after a similar fashion.\nThere, then, we perceive that the lower animals can form connected\nideas, and can convey them to man, so that the same ideas are passing\nat the same moment through the minds of man and beast, evidencing that\nthey possess the same faculties, though of different extent.\n\n[Illustration: PAPIER-MACH\u00c9 PALACE OF THE HORNET.\n\nSentinel Guarding the Entrance to the Palace.]\n\nSome few examples must suffice to show the power of gesture-language in\nthe lower animals. I once owned a dog, a variety of hound, which was\nas companionable as any animal could possibly be. He was never happy\nunless he was on the go. So fond was he of travel and sight-seeing,\nthat I gave him the name of Rover. My occupation calling me from home\nevery day of the week, except Saturday and Sunday, but giving me a few\nhours of each day before the shadows began to settle round, Rover was\nforced to spend his time during my absence as best he could. He was no\nordinary dog. Little he cared for the dogs of the neighborhood. His\nwas a superior nature, and rather than associate with his neighbors\nwhen my companionship could not be had, he would perform his journeys\nalone, sometimes being gone nearly the entire day. But he managed\nto keep a pretty fair record of the time, for he was always on hand\nto greet me on my return home. His joy at my coming knew no bounds.\nHe would rub up against my side, caper around me, assuming a hundred\ndifferent attitudes, leap up into my face, which he would caress with\nhis tongue. I shall never forget the barks of delight, nor the smile,\nas I would call it, for it verily seemed a smile to me, which lit up\nhis intelligent face. Then he would slowly meander his way to the gate.\nReaching it, he would place his right front paw upon the latch, spring\nit, and, taking hold of the top with his mouth, fling it wide open. He\nwas then a very happy fellow. That he appreciated the favor I was about\nto show him, there could be no question, as he plainly showed it in his\nlook, gesture and speech. Sometimes it was not convenient for me to\ntake a walk with him, or I was not in the physical or mental condition\nto do so. It was not necessary for me to tell him in so many words that\nthe pleasure would have to be foregone for the present, for his keen,\ndiscerning mind could read it in my looks. I never liked to disappoint\nhim, for the grief which he manifested was piteous in the extreme.\nHe would prostrate himself to the ground, place his head between his\nfront paws, and look the very picture of inconsolable distress. The\nlow, sorrowful moan which he would emit, when the disappointment was\nthe keenest, was so heart-rending, that many a time I would reverse my\npurpose and say, \u201cCome, Rover, master will not deny so good a creature\nthe pleasure of his company for an hour or so in the woods.\u201d Instantly\nhis whole expression would change, and there would be exhibited a joy\nas intense as the grief which had depressed him to the earth. Rover\nwas no hypocrite. His sorrow was not assumed, but as real and poignant\na sorrow as ever possessed a human breast. I have known him to grieve\nfor hours, and even to refuse the daintiest food when he has been\ndisappointed. Were he dissembling, seeing that it availed him not,\nhe would not be likely to have kept it up so long, and to his sore\ndiscomfort and detriment. Examples of animals making their language\nintelligible to man could be multiplied _ad infinitum_, but we must\npass on to say something about their capability of understanding the\nlanguage of man.\n\nThat many of the lower animals understand something of human language\nis a familiar fact. All the domesticated animals, notably the dog and\nthe horse, can comprehend an order that is given to them, though,\nperhaps, they may not be able in all instances to understand the\nprecise words which are used. There are many occasions, however, when\nit is evident that the knowledge of human language does extend to the\nsignification of particular words. Parrots, as is well known, are well\nacquainted with the meanings of the words which they speak. Examples\nhave been known to the writer of parrots that were able to speak in two\nlanguages, and, when addressed, always replied in the language used by\ntheir interlocutors, speaking English or Spanish, as the case might be.\n\u201cGo, bring up the cows,\u201d was an order that was daily given to Lion,\na large black dog, with a shaggy head, that belonged to my maternal\ngrandfather, an old-time farmer who lived way back in the fifties. So\nwell did he understand the significance of these words, and the labor,\nworry and responsibility which they implied, that he did not have to\nbe told a second time, nor have to have their import conveyed to him\nby sign or by action of the farm lad whose business it was to see that\nthe animals were brought to the barn-yard at milking time. Obedient\nto orders, he would trot to the pasture-ground, nearly a quarter-mile\ndistant, open the bars between the lane and the field with his mouth,\nand then start on his business with a full sense of its requirements.\nHis coming was well known to the cattle. While the most of them would\ntake their way in a quiet, orderly manner to the lane, yet there were\nsome unruly ones among them who gave Lion a great deal of trouble, but\nhe always succeeded in overruling their contrary tendencies. When there\nwas a tumult in the hennery, accompanied by loud noises, the command,\n\u201cGo, see what the trouble is!\u201d was performed to the very letter, and\nthe trouble, if any, was speedily announced by a series of loud, sharp,\nquick barks, which soon brought some one or more members of the family\nto the scene of disorder. If nothing unusual was happening, Lion would\nreturn to the house in a slow, leisurely way, and by his looks convey,\nas clearly as man could do it, the utter needlessness of the command.\n\nNot only is the dog capable of understanding many things that are said\nto him, but is even capable of forestalling one\u2019s wishes. Part of one\nof the writer\u2019s vacations was spent in a small country town not very\nremote from Philadelphia. There was in the family with whom he boarded\na dog called Prince. He was a very great favorite, and was once noted\nfor his lively, vivacious disposition and jolly manners. But at the\ntime of my introduction to him, he seemed to be suffering from some\nbodily affliction, which had not only taken away his appetite for food,\nbut the very _animus_ of his being. Upon inquiry I learned that the\nmaster of the house, to whom Prince was so deeply attached, had died\nthe year before, and that the dog had taken his death so completely to\nheart that he had lost all of his former vivacity. He refused all food,\noften going for days without taking a single mouthful. Life seemed to\nhave lost for him all its charms. Sad and dejected he would lie upon\nthe porch-floor or ground, seemingly unconscious of everything and\neverybody. That he was slowly dying seemed evident to all. But a change\nfrom our first interview appeared to come over the animal. From some\ncause or other, he had taken quite a fancy to me. He would greet me\nwith considerable friendliness when I would come down in the morning,\nand always seemed glad to be in my presence. My first business, on\ncoming downstairs, was to go for the newspaper, which was always to be\nfound inside the yard, some thirty steps from the house. I would then\nsit down upon the porch and read it, but Prince was always close-by, a\nwilling spectator. One morning, however, instead of going to the gate\nfor the paper as was my custom, I stood debating in my mind whether to\ngo or not, when, to my utmost surprise, the dog, after watching me for\na while, walked very soberly down to the gate, picked up the paper in\nhis mouth, and brought it to me, not laying it down at my feet, but\nplacing it in my hands. I thanked him for his kindness, gave him a few\ngentle pats upon the head, and he walked away as pleased as a child\nwould have been who had received a few pennies for a similar service.\nThe dog had evidently read in my looks the debate that was going on in\nmy mind, and knowing that I always read the paper when I came down\nfrom my room, anticipated my wishes by bringing it to me.\n\n[Illustration: UNSOLICITED AND UNLOOKED-FOR KINDNESS.\n\nHow Prince Forestalled My Wishes by Bringing Me the Morning Newspaper.]\n\nThere is in the two interesting stories just related a singular\naggregation of faculties which are held in man to belong to the\nimmortal, and not to the mortal part of his being. Reason, or the\ndeduction of a conclusion from premises, is strikingly exhibited.\nThen there is the power of forming ideas and communicating them to\nman, and the capability of understanding man\u2019s language, and even of\nanticipating the wishes of human friends. And lastly, there is the\nintense love for the master, combined with the power of self-sacrifice,\nwhich enabled Lion and Prince to act as they did, while instinct was\nurging them to take their exercise in the open air, or in the enjoyment\nof luxurious ease.\n\nNo faculty of the mind gives greater trouble to materialists than\nMemory. It is that which survives when every particle of the material\nbrain has been repeatedly changed. It is that which more or less deeply\nreceives impressions and retains them through a long series of years.\nAnd even when they are apparently forgotten, hidden as it were behind\na temporary veil, a passing odor, a dimly-heard sound or a nodding\nflower may rend the veil asunder in the twinkling of an eye, and scenes\nlong forgotten are reproduced before the memory as vividly as though\ntime had been annihilated. Nothing is omitted. There comes up to view\na minute and instantaneous insight into every detail, and for a moment\nwe break loose from our fleshy tabernacle, and see and hear with our\nspiritual and not with our material eyes and ears. Man expects that\nhe shall retain his memory and carry it into the next world. He also\nexpects to recognize in the spiritual world those whom he has loved in\nthis temporal sphere. Memory, therefore, must be spiritual and eternal;\nand wherever it can be found, there exists an immortal spirit. No\nstronger evidence, apart from Revelation, exists of a future life of\nman than memory. And if we apply this proof to ourselves, then, in pure\njustice, we should apply it wherever memory is found.\n\nBut some have claimed that memory is a mere emanation from the brain.\nThat an inferior brain is coupled with an inferior intellect, and that\nif the brain be slightly or seriously injured, the powers of thought\nwill be weakened or utterly held in abeyance, are arguments that have\nbeen made to prove that thought is the creation of the brain. The facts\nin themselves are true, but the conclusion is false. The brain is but\nthe organ or instrument of the thought-power, and stands in the same\nrelation to it that a tool does to a carpenter. However good an artisan\na carpenter may be, it is but common-sense to say that he cannot turn\nout good work with a blunt instrument, or any work at all with a broken\none. So it is with the brain. It is but the tool of the spirit, and,\nif it be damaged in any way, the keenest intellect will not be able to\nwork with it. Memory, moreover, exists in creatures which are devoid of\nbrain. No real brain, but only a succession of nervous ganglia running\nthe entire length of the body, is found in insects, and indeed in many\nof them the faculty of memory is very strongly developed.\n\nThen there is the moner, a mere speck of formless protoplasm, that has\nnot the slightest trace of a specialized nervous system, yet it has\nthe power of throwing out arms and of retracting them into the general\nbody-mass, of opening out mouths where a particle of food strikes\nit, of digesting its food, and of circulating its fluid without the\nnecessity of canals. But how are these movements effected? Certainly a\nnervous influence is the prime mover of all its actions. Nerve-matter,\nmayhap, constitutes its entire body-mass, or it may be all brain as\nwell as all muscle. Though the lowest and simplest of all animal life,\nyet it possesses an innate consciousness and intelligence. Memory is\nnot wanting as a faculty of the mind of this all-brain animal, which\nI have thought fit to characterize it, as some actions of it already\ndescribed under the head of \u201cSlime Animals\u201d seem very clearly to\nindicate.\n\nSome fifteen years ago I mentioned in an article, entitled \u201cInsect\nPets,\u201d a pair of flies, the common _Musca domestica_ of our houses,\nwhich had been closely observed by Mr. Forestel, the gentleman who at\nthat time had charge of the distributing department of the Philadelphia\n_Record_. This position necessitates nocturnal employment. While taking\nhis midnight lunch, Mr. Forestel\u2019s attention was directed to a pair of\nthese insects that had located themselves upon his plate. Had it been\nin the summer when flies were plentiful, the event would hardly have\nbeen noticed; but being in the winter, a season notable for their great\nscarcity, they could not but impress his mind with something out of\nthe ordinary. Night after night these self-invited and curious guests\npresented themselves at the same place, and it was a long time before\nhe observed the regularity of their visits. At first he was disposed to\nview the alighting of two flies upon his plate as a mere coincidence,\nbut he at length became so deeply interested in the affair, that he\nresolved to watch their actions very closely. It was not long before he\nbecame convinced that they always waited for the commencement of the\nmeal, when they would deliberately fly down for their regular lunch.\nSo closely did he watch them, that he was soon able to discriminate\nbetween the two, and to discover beyond a doubt that it was not a\nseries of two flies, but always the same pair. As time progressed, Mr.\nForestel and the flies grew to be famous friends. They in time became\nso friendly, that they would permit themselves to be handled. Although\nat first they would only appear when Mr. Forestel was alone, yet they\nsoon became accustomed to strangers. On the nights when their friend\nwas not on duty, others have spread their lunches on the table used by\nhim, but the flies were not slow in making the discovery, and, instead\nof alighting, would quickly hasten away without their accustomed meal.\nWho can deny the possession of memory to these two flies? Had the\ndiscovery of the food been an accidental occurrence the first time,\ncould it have been so the second and all the succeeding times? Then,\nagain, the flies always came at the right time, showing that they had\nsome idea of the passing moments. Even admitting that this latter\nthought is out of the range of probability, there can be no doubt that\nthey were not observant creatures, else how would they know when to\ncome, or whether or not the man that sat at the table was the same that\nhad shown them so much kindness on their previous visits. That they did\nknow these things, there cannot be the slightest doubt. But how did\nthey know them? There is only one answer to the query. They knew them\nthrough the exercise of memory, these creatures impressing on their\nminds the appearance of the objects near the table, the form and color\nof the table itself, the look, manner and dress of the man who sat by\nit, and acting on the result of these impressions. Human beings act in\njust the same way in traversing for the first time a locality through\nwhich they will have to return. And yet, as has already been stated,\nthese insects have no true brains.\n\nConsiderably removed from insects are the vermes, or worms. Man, in his\noverweening opinion of self, would hardly credit the earth-worm with\nthe possession of any mental qualities; yet it has been shown that it\ncan reason, and can communicate after its fashion with its fellows.\nIt is now my intention to prove that it has the power of memory. Has\nthe reader ever seen an earth-worm trying to carry into its burrow a\npair of pine-needles joined at their bases? It knows just where to\nseize the pair. This it determines by feeling, or moving its head along\nthe needles, the sense of touch being very acute in this portion of\nits body. Hardly ever is a mistake made by seizing the free or apical\nextremities. Once it has discovered where to act, this position is\nfixed in memory, and the animal exercises the latter power in dealing\nwith objects of the kind in all subsequent operations.\n\nAlmost any living being can by means of the faculty of memory be taught\nby man. But were it absent, no teaching would be of the slightest\navail. In most cases where an animal is ferocious, I firmly believe\nthat fear, and not ill-temper, is the real cause of its conduct. Let\na little kindness be shown, and the animal will never forget it.\nSuch acts, repeatedly performed, assure it that your intentions are\nwell-meant, and it soon learns to recognize in you a friend. The\nmemory of your goodness will often be recollected after long years of\nseparation, and the most joyous feelings be manifested at the sight\nof your presence upon returning home. Everyone who has had personal\nexperience of domesticated animals must have remarked the great\nstrength and endurance of their powers of memory. The dog, the cat, the\nhorse and the ass afford so many familiar anecdotes in point, that I\nshall be obliged to pass them over and restrict my illustrations to a\nfew animals about which little has been said.\n\nFor obstinacy of opinion no animal can excel the pig. He is a creature\nwhom few, on account of his uncleanly person and disgusting habits,\nwould care to caress. Yet there is no animal under man\u2019s care that\nenjoys such treatment better than he does. He will stand for hours\nwhile you rub his head and back, the very impersonation of contentment,\nnever failing to express his thanks and appreciation by occasional\nmonosyllabic grunts. A friend of ours, living in Northern Indiana,\nhad a fine fellow, whom he had raised from infancy. When he was quite\nyoung, he began to show him considerable attention, picking him up\nin his arms, and fondling him in the most affectionate manner. The\nchoicest food was always reserved for him, and the cosiest bed of straw\nprovided for his nightly rest. In process of time the animal grew to\ngreat size, but he never forgot these early attentions. He expected\nthem all the same. When denied what he deemed were his lawful rights,\nhe would set up an unearthly squealing, enough to split the ears of\nthe groundlings, and refuse to be comforted until his demands were\nsatisfied. Never was the master, when out of the house, safe from his\nintrusions. He would besiege him in the presence of company, command\nhis attention, and cry in his own peculiar fashion if he thought\nhimself ignored. Many a rough-and-tumble game, which reminded me of\nboys in my childhood days, would they have together, and it was really\namusing to see them. They enjoyed these tussles, which were always of\nthe most friendly character.\n\nStupid as the life of a cow may seem to be, yet there has been known\nto the writer some cows which were far from being dull and prosaic.\nOur same Hoosier friend had such an animal, whom he called Daisy. She\nwas very docile and affectionate, and would come, even when grazing in\nthe most delightful pasture of clover, whenever her name happened to\nbe mentioned. Daisy was a pretty creature, and very exemplary in her\nconduct. When her companions would break into a field of corn, where\nthey had no right to be, she would not follow their wicked example,\nbut remained where her master had placed her and the rest of the herd,\nshowing them, as it were, that she did not approve of such wilful\nwaywardness. No member of the bovine family of animals ever showed a\ngreater fondness for love than Daisy. The master could put his arms\naround her neck, and lay his face against the side of her own. That she\napproved of such familiarity was evident, for she would show that she\ndid by placing her lips against his in true lover-like fashion. But\nthere came a time when this attachment to the master became dissolved.\nOn account of the bad behavior of the herd in general, and to make it\na law-abiding community, it was resolved that each member should have\nits horns sawn off close up to the skull. This, it was thought, would\nimprove the temper of the herd, and make it less troublesome to manage.\nNo fear was entertained, however, for Daisy, who was already as good as\nshe could be, but Daisy must undergo the same cruel punishment for the\nsake of uniformity in this particular in the herd. It had, however, the\nopposite effect upon Daisy from what it had upon the rest of the herd,\nfor it made her sullen and morose, and from that time she resented all\nfamiliarity upon the part of the master. She seemed to view him as her\nworst enemy. All attempts to settle her grievances were viewed in a\nsuspicious manner, and the matter of reconciliation had at length to be\nabandoned.\n\nBeasts, there is no doubt, were intended to be the servants of man, and\nthere is nothing in his hands half so powerful in the accomplishment\nof this end as thoughtful kindness. Inflexible decision, combined with\ngentleness and sympathy, are irresistible weapons in his power, and no\nanimal exists, I firmly believe, which cannot be subdued if the right\nman undertakes the task. By this mixture of firmness and kindness\nmany a wild beast of a horse has been in a half-hour rendered gentle\nand subservient by Rarey, obeying the least sign of his conqueror,\nand permitting himself to be freely handled without displaying the\nslightest resentment.\n\nThat there is something more in memory than a mere production of a\nmaterial brain must seem probable from the examples given. In several\ncases the animals were without any brains at all, but in others, where\na brain did exist, its material particles must have been repeatedly\nchanged, while the ideas impressed upon the memory still remained in\nfull force.\n\nPerhaps no attribute of the mind is better fitted to follow that which\nhas just been treated than Generosity. But whether we accept it in\nthe sense of liberality or magnanimity, it is certainly a very lofty\nquality, and one which infinitely ennobles the character of those who\npossess it. Taken in the former sense, it is an attribute of Deity,\nwho gives us freely all that we have, and so sets us an example of\ngenerosity to our fellow-creatures. Now, if it be admitted that the\npossession of generosity ennobles man\u2019s character, while the lack of\nthat quality debases it, then the inference is undeniable that when we\nfind a beast possessing generosity, and a man devoid of it, the beast\nis in that particular the superior of the man. And that generosity,\nbeing a divine attribute, belongs to the spirit and not to the body,\nno believer in Christianity is likely to deny. Therefore, wherever we\nfind this characteristic developed, we must admit the presence of an\nimmortal spirit.\n\nThat the lower animals do possess generosity in the sense of Liberality\nwill now be proved from circumstances that have occurred within my\nown observation. My first proof is a very interesting one, and is\ndrawn from the life of a dog that was the companion of my school-boy\ndays. Sport was the name of the animal. He was not a greedy, selfish\ncreature, but a generous, noble fellow. Many an act of self-sacrifice\nhad he been known to perform, and he was never happier than when he\nwas doing some good to his fellows. It was not unlike him, when he\nwould meet a poor, strange and hungry animal of his own kind by the\nroadway, to bring him to his master\u2019s house, and at the meal-hour\ndivide with the unfortunate his noon-day allowance. Between him and\na certain cat, called Blackey, which was also a member of the same\nhousehold, there existed a very strong friendship. Any injury done the\ncat was most summarily resented by Sport. He would share his meals\nwith her, and never seemed satisfied unless she would consent to take\nthe choicest bits. But the generosity was not all on his side, for the\ncat certainly rivalled him in the exercise of this noble trait, which\nall acknowledge to be one of the noblest characteristics of the human\nmind. When Blackey was sick, and unable to be around, much of the time\nof the dog would be spent in her presence. He would caress her with\nhis paw, smooth her silken, jet-black fur with his tongue, and seek by\nevery means in his power to raise her drooping spirits and alleviate\nher miseries. No animal, not even man himself, could show more real\nsympathy for a fellow in distress than Sport did for Blackey.\n\nNo bird, it would seem, could be expected to manifest so little of\ngenerosity as the sparrow. As a rule, sparrows are remarkable for\ntheir ability to take care of themselves. Theirs is a nature which\nis based upon self. They are an avaricious species, and little they\nreck for their neighbors. As the eagle is known to treat the osprey,\nand the skua-gull its weaker brethren, so the sparrow has been known\nto act towards its neighbors. But exceptions exist to every rule, and\nwe are pleased to record an honorable one in the case of this most\ndetested species. Close by a maple-tree, which a pair of sparrows had\nappropriated and made the support for their home, dwelt a sturdy robin\nwith his mate. Their home, a mud-lined domicile, was placed in the\ncrotch of a small tree. Three children appeared in process of time to\nbless the happy couple. Everything went along smoothly and pleasantly\nwith the robins, the sparrows being too much engrossed with their\nown affairs to think of giving them any trouble. But a tragedy soon\nhappened which, sad to relate, foreboded evil and consequent death to\nthe nest-full of young robins. Father and mother had, while searching\nfor food for the little ones, been cruelly killed by a conscienceless\nsportsman. But the fledglings, which seemed doomed to die the death of\nstarvation, were spared by some good genius who put it into the heart\nof the sparrows to pass that way, and thus was their sad and pitiable\ncondition brought to the light of day. Their heart-rending appeals for\nfood, combined with their orphaned situation, struck a sympathetic\nchord in the breast of the sparrows, and day after day these birds,\nwhose chief concern naturally seems for self, might be seen acting the\npart of the good Samaritan towards these unfortunate of God\u2019s children.\n\nBut let us now pass to that form of generosity which has been called\nMagnanimity. Few qualities in human nature are more noble than the\ncapability of foregoing revenge when the offender is powerless to\nresist. This unwillingness to resent an injury, even though the\npower to do so is present in the individual, is what is implied by\nmagnanimity. When we find those beings whom we designate brutes rising\nto a moral grandeur which few men can attain, disdaining to avail\nthemselves of the opportunity of vengeance, and even rewarding evil\nwith good, it does seem an utter absurdity to affirm that they are\nnot acting under the inspiration of Him who gave us the celestial\nmaxim, \u201cLove your enemies.\u201d By their actions they show themselves\nworthy of everlasting life, and what they deserve they will assuredly\nreceive at the hands of Him who is Justice and Truth. Consciously,\nor unconsciously, the feeling of magnanimity is acknowledged among\nmankind. Even in the lowest stratum of society it is recognized. As\nwith man, so with the lower animals; and there are many instances on\nrecord where the strong have disdained, no matter what the offence had\nbeen, to make reprisals upon the weak.\n\nBus and Jack are two dogs whose acquaintance I made three years ago.\nThe one is a beagle, and the other a pug. No one that has seen these\nanimals in their frolics and plays, would ever suspect that any\ndifferences could arise between them. But when such disagreements do\noccur, and there is hardly a day that does not witness a dozen or more,\nit is always Bus that is the instigator. The most trifling act upon\nthe part of Jack will be made the cause of offence, and an excuse for\nthe precipitation of a quarrel. In a rage, Bus will fly into the face\nof Jack, but the latter will coolly shake him off and walk leisurely\naway. No provocation will induce him to resent an insult or an injury,\nespecially where Pug or a dog smaller than himself is concerned. It is\nnot that he is afraid of Pug, for, when once aroused in the presence\nof equal or even superior strength, he becomes a terror. He is too\nmagnanimous to avenge a wrong done him by one less powerful than\nhimself. The look which he would give Pug, after one of these attacks\nhad been made, was one of pure contempt, and said, as plainly as words\ncould have said, \u201cYour assaults are mere child\u2019s play, and are unworthy\nof recognition by one who is so much your superior in feats of valor.\u201d\nThat Pug felt the meaning and force of the look was apparent, for he\nwould always slink away abashed to some corner, where he would remain\nfor an hour or two without showing himself. Over and over again has\nJack allowed little dogs to bite him without troubling himself to\nretaliate; but if a big dog ventured upon an insult, that dog had to\nrun or pay the penalty for his temerity. No dog could give a more\ndisdainful look than Jack, and that look always gave him an easy and\nuninterrupted passage wherever he chose to go.\n\nOther anecdotes of a similar nature might be given to show that\nanimals can act magnanimously towards each other. That they are as\ncapable of displaying the magnanimity of their nature towards men\nwhom they hated has frequently been observed. The manager of a mill\nin Fifeshire, Scotland, was, according to Rev. J. G. Wood, very much\ndisliked by the watch-dog, probably from some harsh treatment which the\nanimal had received from his hands. One very dark night the manager\nhad strayed from his path and fell over the dog. Seeing the mistake\nhe had made, and finding that he could not recover himself, he gave\nhimself up as lost, for the dog was a very powerful animal. But the\ndog was magnanimous enough to spare a helpless enemy, and to lay aside\nold grievances. Instead of seizing the prostrate man by the throat,\nas a brute would be expected to do, the dog only licked his face and\nexhibited his sympathy. Ever afterward the man and the dog were fast\nfriends.\n\nJust as there are animals capable of exercising great self-denial by\ngiving to others what belongs to themselves, and even manifesting a\ngenerosity which would put human nature to the blush, so there are\nanimals which can cheat like accomplished swindlers. As all Cheatery\nrequires the use of the intellect, it is therefore evident that the\nmost intellectual animals will be the most accomplished cheats. Dogs\nhave shown themselves to be considerable adepts in cheating, and\nthis we would naturally expect. Some curious and rather ludicrous\ninstances of cheatery upon the part of the dog are noticed. We once\nknew a pair of dogs, a spaniel and a pug, that were inmates of the\nsame house. They were very jealous of each other so far as the master\nwas concerned, and neither could endure to see the other caressed. It\nhappened that the spaniel was taken quite ill, and was in consequence\nvery much cared for and petted. His companion, seeing the attention and\nsympathy that were bestowed upon him, pretended to be sick herself,\nand, going to a corner of the room, lay down upon the floor and looked\nthe very picture of misery and distress. A cat and a dog, that for many\nyears were members of the writer\u2019s family, had taken a fancy to the\nsame spot, a soft cushion at the head of a sofa. While they were the\nbest of friends, yet a difference of opinion would occasionally arise,\nand a slight loss of temper would be the result. When the cat would be\nin the possession of the cushion, the dog would torment her in every\npossible way with the view of causing her to abandon the pet spot. He\nwould pull at the cushion, seeking to drag it to the floor, or, seizing\nthe occupant by the ear or tail, endeavor to dislodge her by force.\nBut the cat, seemingly unmindful of what was going on, and the very\nimpersonation of patience all the while, would refuse to give up so\ncomfortable a couch. At last the dog hit upon a _ruse_ which he knew\nwould bring the cat down from the sofa. He rushed out into the kitchen,\nand began acting as though in pursuit of a mouse. He and puss had often\nengaged in such diverting business. This was more than the latter could\nstand. She was down from her cozy bed in an instant, and was soon by\nthe side of the dog. But as soon as puss, all ablaze with excitement,\nhad her head in a corner and was straining her eyes to get a glimpse of\nthe supposed mouse, the dog ran to the sofa at full speed, jumped on\nthe cushion, curled himself round, and was happy. Poor puss, perceiving\nthat the dog had left her, was not slow to discern that she had been\nimposed upon by the latter, and that it was only a trick that had been\nplayed upon her by her shrewd companion, that he might get possession\nof the soft spot upon the sofa. She, however, bore it good-naturedly\nand decorously, and was ever afterward on the alert for these little\ntricks of her canine friend.\n\nBirds can be as capable of cheating, not only each other, but other\nanimals. A crow, belonging to John Smedley, a resident of Lima, Pa.,\nwas an adept in the business. When dinner was preparing, he would fly\naround the corner of the house, set up a terrific cawing as though\nin great distress, and when the mistress of the house, with whom he\nwas a great favorite, would come out on a tour of investigation,\nthe rascally bird would elude her and manage to steal round to the\ntable in the opposite direction and seize what food suited him the\nbest, which he would carry to the top of the house, where he would\neat it at his leisure. No persuasions would induce him to come down,\nfor he knew that such action was a breach of the peace, and he was\nfearful of the punishment, that of confinement to a cage, which would\nfollow. When, however, he felt assured that his mistress had forgiven\nthe wrong-doing, he would fly down to the porch, and do his utmost\nto convince her that he was a well-meaning bird, and that he was\nthoroughly ashamed of his actions. But there was one member of the\nfamily that utterly detested the bird. It was the dog Rover. Many a\ntrick had the bird practised upon the latter, especially at meal time.\nPoor Rover was not allowed to eat in peace. When he would be wholly\nabsorbed in his dinner, the crow would approach him in the rear,\ngive him a severe twirl of the tail, and then in a twinkling fly to\none side, looking the very picture of innocence. But ere the dog had\nrecovered his self-possession and was ready to resume his feeding\nagain, the bird had captured the daintiest morsel, and was off to the\ntree-top. Discomfited and outwitted, the dog would rush to the base of\nthe tree, bark his growls of anger and defiance, while the crow would\nlook quizzically down from above, and chuckle with delight.\n\nMany of my readers may, perhaps, remember the story of the two dogs\nthat used to hunt the hare in concert, the one starting the hare and\ndriving it toward the spot where his accomplice lay concealed. I recall\nan instance where a somewhat similar arrangement was made, only the\ntwo contracting parties, instead of being two dogs, were a dog and a\nhawk, the latter making use of his wings in driving the prey out of the\ncopse into the open ground. Innumerous examples of such alliances are\nknown, and in all of them there is manifest the curious fact that two\nanimals can arrange a mode of cheating a third. One of the principal\nstratagems used in war, that is the ambuscade, whereby the enemy is\ninduced to believe that danger is imminent in one direction, when it\nreally lies in the opposite and unsuspecting direction, is employed.\nNo one would admit that a general who contrived to draw the enemy into\nan ambuscade acted by instinct. The act would be construed as proof of\nthe possession of reasoning powers surpassing those of the adversary.\nAnd if this be the case with the man, why not with the dog, or with the\nraven or hawk, when the deception is carried out by precisely the same\nline of reasoning?\n\nBeasts possess, in common with man, the sense of Humor. This is\ndeveloped in many ways. Generally it assumes the phase of teasing or\nannoying others, and thus deriving pleasure or amusement from their\ndiscomfort. Sometimes, both with man and beast, it takes the form of\nbodily torture, the struggles of the victim being highly amusing to\nthe torturer. Civilized man has now learned to regard the infliction\nof pain upon a fellow as anything but an amusement, and would rather\nsuffer the agony than inflict it upon another. But with the savage\nit is otherwise, for there is no entertainment so fascinating as\nthe infliction of bodily pain upon a human being. Among our Indian\ntribes, torture is a solemn usage of war, which every warrior expects\nfor himself if captured, and which he is certain to inflict upon any\nprisoner whom he may happen to take. The tortures which he inflicts\nare absolutely fiendish, and yet a whole tribe will assemble around\nthe stake, and gloat upon the agonies which are being borne by a\nfellow-creature. Similarly the African savage inflicts the most\nexcruciating sufferings upon the man or woman accused of witchcraft,\nemploying means too horrible to be mentioned. But in all these cases\nthe cruelty seems to be in a great measure owing to obtuseness of\nperception. Yet the savage who binds his victim to a stake, and\nperforates the sensitive parts of his body with burning pine-splinters,\nbehaves very much like a child who amuses itself by catching flies,\npulling off their wings and legs, and watching their unavailing efforts\nto escape.\n\nMany years ago cockchafers were publicly sold in Paris for children\nto torture to death. The amusement consisted in running a hooked pin\nthrough the insect\u2019s tail, fastening a thread thereto, and watching the\npoor creature spin in the air. After the poor beetle was too enfeebled\nto expand its wings, it was slowly dismembered, the child being greatly\namused at its endeavors to crawl, as leg after leg was pulled from the\nbody. A similar custom, though in a more cruel form, prevails in Italy,\nthe creatures which are tortured by way of sport being more capable of\nfeeling pain than are insects. Birds are employed in this country for\nthe amusement of children. A string is tied to the leg of the bird, and\nthe unfortunate creature, after its powers of flight are exhausted,\nis generally plucked alive and dismembered. The idea of cruelty does\nnot seem to enter at all in these practices, but they are done from\nthe sheer incapacity of understanding that a bird or a beast can be\na fellow-creature. Italians are notorious for their cruel treatment\nof animals, and if remonstrated with become very much astonished and\nreply, \u201cNon \u00e8 Cristiano,\u201d that is to say, \u201cIt is not a Christian.\u201d\nEnglishmen have little to boast of on this score. Bear-baiting was\nabolished by the Puritans, not because it gave pain to the bear, but\nbecause it gave pleasure to the spectators. Even at the present day,\nboth in England and in this country, there is a latent hankering after\nsimilar scenes, and dog-fighting, rat-killing and cock-fighting, even\nthough they are now contrary to law, are still practised in secret.\nSimilarly the sense of humor is developed in the lower animals by\ncausing pain or annoyance to some other creature, and the animal acts\nin precisely the same manner as a savage or a child.\n\nSparrows, as might be expected from their character, will gratify their\nfeelings of aversion by banding together for the purpose of mobbing\nsome creature to which they have an objection. In Hardwicke\u2019s _Science\nGossip_ for December, 1872, there is a short account of a number of\nsparrows mobbing a cat. Evidently the cat had intended making a meal\non one of the birds, but was greatly mistaken, for the sparrows dashed\nupon him so fiercely, that he soon turned tail and ran into the house,\none of the sparrows actually pursuing him into the house. The poor cat\nran up-stairs, and was found crouching in terror under one of the beds.\nThis happened in London, where the sparrows are less numerous now than\nthey used to be.\n\nNo bird of my knowledge possesses a larger amount of humor than the\ncrow. I have known him to feign an attack upon a distant part of a\nfield of newly-sprouted corn, which was being guarded by a farmer with\nhis gun. When the latter would be drawn to that part of the field where\nthe attack was to be made, the sagacious bird would manage to outwit\nhim, slip around to the other side, drop down into the field and obtain\na few tender sprouts before the farmer hardly knew what was going on.\nBut he was always up and away at the opportune moment, and, perched\nupon a fence-rail, beyond the range of the gun, would enjoy one of his\nrollicking cawing laughs at the farmer\u2019s expense. Crows that are tame\nhave the sense of humor more keenly developed than their wild brethren\nof the fields and the woods. I once knew a tame crow that took great\npleasure in annoying a dog that lived in the same family. Carlo, as the\ndog was called, was never so contented as when allowed to sleep the\nhours of the morning away, after a night\u2019s carousal, in a quiet, sunny\nspot in the backyard. When the dog had become fast wrapped in the arms\nof the god of slumber, the crow would steal to his side, give his ear\na sharp pull, and when the dog would awake and look around the crow\nwould be busy in gleaning, the most unconcerned creature in the whole\nyard. Again and again would she annoy the poor animal, and always with\nthe same evident sense of delight, which I could always read in the\nmischievous twinkle that lurked in her eyes, till the dog, bewildered\nand unable to account for such mysterious actions, would silently skulk\naway to other parts, where he hoped to be free from all intrusion. Even\nthe mistress of the house was not exempt from her annoyance. She would\ncarry off everything she could lay hold of, and always hid them away in\none place, that is, in a large crevice on the top of the house between\nthe peak of the roof and the chimney. One day the mistress\u2019s spectacles\ndisappeared. Search was instituted everywhere, but without effect. None\nknew better than the bird what the trouble was. While the search was\ngoing on, she busied herself in looking around, and seemed as desirous\nof finding the missing glasses as any member of the household. The look\nwhich the bird gave showed that she enjoyed the situation of affairs\nimmensely, and considered it a fine joke that she had played upon her\nmistress. After a few days the lost spectacles were restored to their\naccustomed place, but no one ever positively knew how they came thither.\n\nDomestic birds, as a rule, are remarkable for the generosity which the\nmaster-bird shows to his inferiors. He will scratch the ground, unearth\nsome food, and then, instead of eating it himself, will call some of\nhis favorites, and give them the delicacy for which he labored. But I\nhave met with a few cases where the cock scratched as usual, called his\nwives, and, when they had gathered round him, ate the morsel himself.\nIt was but a practical joke that he had perpetrated upon them, and\nthat they felt it as such their looks only too strongly testified.\nThere was a relish of delight in it for the cock, for the cackle, which\nhe immediately gave, assured me of this fact as much as the laugh of a\nman could have done who had played such a joke upon one of his fellows.\n\nParrots are much given to practical joking, after the ways of mankind.\nA parrot, belonging to an aunt, had a bad habit of whistling for a dog,\nand then enjoying the animal\u2019s bewilderment and discomfiture. She would\ncall the cat, as her mistress was accustomed to do, and when puss would\ncome, expecting some dainty article of food, she would call out in her\nseverest tone, \u201cBe off, you hussy!\u201d and the cat would make all possible\nspeed for a place of security, greatly to the amusement of the parrot\nfrom her perch in the cage. There have been known parrots that would\nplay practical jokes upon human beings, but dogs and cats seem to be\nthe principal victims of the parrot\u2019s sense of humor.\n\nAnimals not only show their playfulness in such tricks as have been\nmentioned, but many of them are able to appreciate and take part in\nthe games played by children. When I was a boy I knew a dog, a species\nof greyhound, which was an accomplished player at the well-known game\ncalled tag, or touch. Quite as much enthusiasm was displayed by the\nanimal as by any of the human players. He would dart away from the\nboy who happened to be \u201ctouch\u201d with an anxiety that almost appeared\nterror. It was an impossibility to touch the clever canine player; but\nhe was a generous creature, with a strong sense of justice, and so,\nwhen he thought that his turn ought to come, he would stand still and\nwait quietly to be touched. His manner of touching his play-fellows was\nalways by grasping the end of their trousers with his teeth, and as it\nwas impossible for the boy to stop when so seized in full course, the\ndog was often jerked along the ground for some little distance.\n\nHide-and-seek is a game which is often learned and enjoyed by many\nanimals. I have often been an interested spectator of the play in\nwhich two dogs were the participants. It was as exciting as such a\ndiversion could possibly be between two children. For an hour at a time\nI have watched the fun, and the players seemed not to abate the least\njot or tittle from their ardor and enthusiasm. They were apparently\nas fresh then as at the beginning. In due time the game ceased as if\nby mutual consent, but the animals did not seek some cool, quiet spot\nfor comfort and rest, but started off to the woods for some further\ndiversion, from which their voices were soon heard, telling that they\nwere in pursuit of a rabbit or the ignoble ground-hog.\n\nWe have far from exhausted the list of examples at hand to show that\nthe lower animals possess a sense of humor. But what use, it may be\nasked, can the capacity of humor subserve in the next world? Much the\nsame, I presume, that it subserves in this. There are some in this\nworld in whom the sense of humor is absolutely wanting. Estimable as\nthey may be in character, they are just solemn prigs, and I should be\nvery sorry to resemble them in the world, whither, it is hoped, all\nlife tendeth.\n\nPride, Jealousy, Anger, Revenge and Tyranny, while not very pleasing\ncharacteristics, belong, as such, to the immaterial, and not to the\nmaterial, part of man. That the lower animals possess these qualities\nwill be seen from what follows. Hence the inference to be drawn from\nthat fact must be quite obvious.\n\nTaking these characteristics in order, Pride, or Self-esteem, is\ndeveloped as fully in many animals as in the proudest of the human\nrace. Most conspicuously is this shown in animals which herd together.\nThere is always one leader at the head, who will not permit any\nmovement to be made without his order, and who resents the least\ninterference with his authority. This is particularly the case with the\ndeer, the horse and the ox. Even when these animals are domesticated,\nand the habits of their feral life have materially changed, the feeling\nof pride exists to the fullest extent.\n\nWhoever has carefully watched and studied the inhabitants of a\nfarm-yard cannot fail to have observed that the cows have their\nlaws of precedence and etiquette as clearly defined as those of any\nEuropean Court. Every cow knows her own place and keeps it. She will\nnever condescend to take a lower, nor would she be allowed to assume\na higher. A new-comer in a farm-yard has about as much chance of\napproaching the rack at feeding-time as a new boy at school has of\ngetting near the fire on a cold winter day. But as the young calf\nincreases in growth, and is nearing maturity, she is allowed to mingle\nwith her companions on tolerably equal terms. Should, however, a\nyounger animal than herself be admitted, it is amusing to see with what\ngratification she bullies the new-comer, and how much higher she ranks\nin her own estimation when she finds she is no longer the junior.\n\nBut should the fates be propitious, and she should arrive at the\ndignity of being senior cow, she never fails to assert that dignity\non every occasion. When the cattle are taken out of the yard to their\npasture in the morning, and when they are returned to it in the\nevening, she will not allow any except herself to take the lead. An\ninstance is recorded where the man in charge of a herd of cows would\nnot permit the \u201cganger,\u201d as the head cow is often called, to go out\nfirst. The result was that she refused to go out at all. Therefore, to\nget her to go out of the yard, the man had to drive all the other cows\nback again, so that she might take her proper place at the head of the\nherd.\n\nFew people know much about the real disposition of the mule. Judging\nfrom popular ideas respecting the animal, one would think that it had\nno pride in its composition. It is in reality a very proud animal,\nand fond of good society. One of his most striking characteristics is\nhis aversion to the ass, and the pride which he takes in his relation\nto the horse. An ass would be hardly safe in a drove of mules, for he\nwould, in all probability, be kicked and lamed by his proud relatives;\nwhereas a horse, on the contrary, takes a distinguished position, the\nmules not only crowding around him and following his movements, but\nexhibiting a violent jealousy, each striving to get the nearest to\ntheir distinguished relative.\n\n[Illustration: EXHIBITION OF GRANDEUR.\n\nMale Peacock in Presence of Some Barn-Yard Fowls.]\n\nWe have seen the pride of rank and love of precedence in cows, and the\npride of ancestry in mules. There is, however, a pride that takes the\nform of sensitiveness to ridicule. Nothing is so galling to a proud man\nas to find himself the object of ridicule. The same trait of character\nis to be found in many animals, and especially in those that have been\ndomesticated, for it is in these that we have the most opportunities\nfor observation. All high-bred dogs are exceedingly sensitive to\nridicule. We knew of a cat that was quite conscious if spoken of in a\ndisparaging manner, and testified his disapprobation by arching his\ntail, holding himself very stiff indeed, and marching slowly out of the\nroom.\n\nThere is, however, another form of pride which is often to be seen\namong the lower animals, but more especially among birds notable for\ngaudy or abundant plumage. This is the pride which manifests itself\nin personal appearance. Vanity is the name which is currently applied\nto this form of pride. Those who have observed a peacock in all the\nglory of his starry train will recognize the intense pride he feels at\nhis own splendor. This display of his magnificent train is not for the\npurpose of attracting the homage of his plainly-attired mates solely,\nbut seems to be intended to evoke the admiration of human beings as\nwell. Not even the homage of birds, whom he regards his inferiors, is\nto be despised.\n\nWe have seen him, with his train fully spread, displaying his grandeur\naround a dozen or more barn-yard fowls, and apparently as satisfied\nwith the effect he produced, as he stalked majestically among them,\nas if he had been surrounded by his own kith and kin. Then there is\nthe turkey. No movements are more grotesque than his. See him as he\nstruts about in his nuptial plumage, and yet no bird, notwithstanding\nthe ludicrousness of his behavior, surveys himself with greater\ncomplacency. The whidah-bird, or widow-bird, as it is often called,\nexhibits this trait of character in its highest development. He is\nwonderfully proud of his beautiful tail, and, as long as he wears it,\nloses no opportunity of displaying it to every person who visits his\ncage. But when the moulting season has arrived, and he has taken on the\nplain, tailless attire of his mate, a change as great has come over\nhis manner, and, instead of exhibiting himself in all his pride and\nglory, he mopes listlessly and stupidly about, and seemingly ashamed of\nhis mean condition. In all these instances the character of pride in\npersonal appearance is as strongly developed as it is possible for it\nto be in any human being.\n\nThat peculiar uneasiness, which arises from the fear that a rival will\ndispossess us of the affection of one whom we love, or the suspicion\nthat he has already done so, is termed jealousy. There are two forms\nof this passion, one connected with the love of some other being,\nand the other dependent on the love of self. But it is the former,\nwhose definition begins the present paragraph, with which we shall\nexclusively deal. It is evident from the meaning of jealousy, as given\nabove, that the power of reasoning is implied, and that any creature\nby which it is manifested must be able to deduce a conclusion from\npremises. No matter if the conclusion drawn by the animal be wrong,\nthe process, however incorrect it may be, is, it cannot be denied,\nstill one of reasoning. All who have possessed pet animals must be\nfamiliar with the exceeding jealousy displayed by most of them. Most\nstrongly is this feeling manifested when an animal has been the only\npet and another is introduced into the house. Where there are two or\nmore dogs in the same family, one is often amused at the boundless\njealousy displayed toward each other while engaged in the service of\nthe master, although at other times they were on the most excellent\nterms. Bus is the name of a favorite dog belonging to a friend. No more\naffectionate dog ever lived. Beagle was his companion. When they were\nby themselves, life was a round of frolics and rambles. No matter how\nrough and exciting their plays were, they never got cross, but endured\neverything with patience and forgiveness of spirit. Beagle was a clever\nanimal, and very fond of the chase. Many a ground-hog would he dislodge\nfrom its burrow and fight to the death, while Bus would look on with\nwonder and admiration. But let the slightest attention be shown by the\nmaster to Beagle, and Bus\u2019s jealousy and anger became unbounded. He\nwould fly at his friend in the most infuriated manner, rending him with\ntooth and claw, while Beagle would quietly slip around the corner of\nthe house to get out of the reach of his companion\u2019s temper. Beagle,\nbeing a large and powerful dog, had in him the ability to give Bus a\nvery sound whipping, but he was too noble and magnanimous a creature\nto take advantage of one younger and smaller than himself. He would\nalways allow Bus to have his own way, knowing that the passion which\nwas lacerating the bosom of his young companion and playmate would\nsoon spend itself, and the latter, ashamed and abashed, would be soon\nseeking forgiveness and reconciliation.\n\nEven in such rarely tamed animals as the common mouse the feeling of\njealousy has been known to be so intense as to lead to murder. A young\nlady, one of Rev. J. G. Wood\u2019s correspondents, had succeeded in taming\na common brown mouse so completely that it would eat out of her hand\nand suffer itself to be taken off the floor. She had also a tame white\nmouse in a cage. One morning when she went to feed the white mouse,\nas was her usual custom, she found it lying dead on the bottom of\nthe cage, and beside it was its murderer, the brown mouse. The cage\nbeing opened, the latter made its escape, as though fearful of the\nconsequences that might ensue, but how it had managed to gain admission\nwas always a mystery.\n\nInstances are on record where the jealousy of a rival has been\nrestrained for long years through fear, and has ultimately broken out\nwhen the cause of the fear has been removed. A case of the kind came\nunder our notice some few years ago. There were two cocks, belonging to\ndifferent breeds, whom fate had placed as denizens of the same family.\nOne was a magnificent dunghill cock, and the other a Malay, a cowardly\ncaitiff, that was kept in fear and subjection by the former. In the\ncourse of events the dunghill cock suddenly died. His rival, coming\nby chance on his dead body, and perceiving that the time had come to\nwreak out the mixture of hatred and revenge that had lain smouldering\nin his bosom for years, instantly sprang upon it, kicked, spurred and\ntrampled upon the lifeless bird, and, standing upon the corpse, flapped\nhis wings in triumph, as it were, and crowed himself hoarse with the\nmost disgusting energy. He immediately took possession of the harem,\nbut he was far from being the noble, generous and unselfish creature\nthat his predecessor had been. Again, comparing man with beast, it is\nat once apparent that the bird in this instance acted exactly as a\nsavage does when his enemy has fallen, for the savage not only exults\nover the dead body of an enemy, especially if the latter has been very\nformidable in life, but also mutilates in futile and silly revenge the\nform which he feared when alive.\n\nTyranny, or the oppression of the weak by the strong, is another of\nthe many traits of character common to man and the lower animals.\nBut whether or not that strength belongs to the body or the mind, it\nis tyranny all the same. Taken in its most obvious form, it not only\nmanifests itself in many of the animals in the oppression of the weak\nby the strong, but also in the killing and the eating of the same, even\nthough they be of the same species. Human cannibals act in just the\nsame manner, eating their enemies after they have killed them. There is\nhardly an animal in which the milder forms of tyranny may not be found.\nInsects, especially, manifest it in a light manner when they drive\naway their fellows from some morsel of food which they desire to keep\nto themselves. Among gregarious animals, the herd or flock is always\nunder the command of an individual who has fought his way to the front,\nand who will rule with imperious sway until he has become old and in\nturn has been supplanted by a younger and more vigorous rival. In the\npoultry-yards the same form of tyranny is manifest, one cock invariably\nassuming the leadership, no matter how many may be the number of birds.\n\nThere is a curious analogy between these birds and human beings,\nespecially those of the East, whether at the present day or in more\nancient times. Many petty chieftains are found in Eastern countries,\nbut there is always to be met with one among them who is more mighty\nthan the rest, and who holds his place by superior force, either\nof intellect or military power. Challenged by one of the inferior\nchiefs and victorious, he retains his post, but if vanquished, his\nconqueror takes his place, his property and his wives. But curious\nto relate, with men as with birds, the members of the harem seem to\ntrouble themselves very little, if any, about the change of master.\nThe Scriptures are full of allusions to the invariable custom that\nthe conqueror takes the possession of the harem belonging to the\nvanquished. David did so with regard to the women of Saul\u2019s household,\nand when Nabal died, who had defied the authority of David, so the\nlatter, as a matter of course, took possession of his wife, together\nwith the rest of his property. And when Absalom rebelled against David,\nhe publicly took possession of his father\u2019s harem, which was a sign\nthat he had assumed the kingdom.\n\nWhere a number of creatures are confined in the same place, a very\ncurious sort of tyranny is sometimes manifested. Mandarin ducks,\naccording to Mr. Bennett, when confined to an aviary, show a very\nquerulous disposition at feeding-time. The males of one and the same\nkind of a different species endeavor to grasp all the nourishment\nfor themselves, unmindful of the wants of others, and will not even\npermit their companions to perform their ablutions without molestation,\nalthough they may themselves have completed what they required. Often\nthe mandarin ducks have been observed to excite the drakes to assail\nother males or females of the same species, and other kinds of birds\nin the aviary, against whom the ladies, from some cause or other, have\ntaken a dislike. One pair of these ducks are always to be noticed that\nexercise a tyranny over the others, not allowing them to wash, eat or\ndrink, unless at their pleasure and approval.\n\nBut, of all tyrants, none can be compared to a spoiled dog, who is\neven worse than a spoiled child. Obedience is a stranger to his\nnature. Does his master want him to go out for a walk, and he prefers\nto stay at home, he stays at home, and his master is compelled to go\nout without him. But if he wants to go for a walk, he makes his master\ngo with him, and even to take the direction he prefers. Duchie is the\nname of a Skye terrier whose history is given in a work on the latter\nbreed of dogs by Dr. J. Brown. So completely had this little animal\ndomineered over her mistress, that the latter could not even choose her\nown dinner, but was obliged to have whatever the dog preferred. It is\nrelated that for a half of a winter\u2019s night she was kept out of bed,\nbecause Duchie had got into the middle and refused to move. Certainly,\nno better example of tyranny could be adduced.\n\nThat so-called brutes possess, in common with ourselves, a Conscience,\nthat is, a sense of Moral Responsibility, and a capability of\ndistinguishing between right and wrong, may seem a very strange\nassertion to be made, especially to those who have never studied the\nways of the lower animals. Animals which are placed under the rule of\nman, and those, like the dog, which belong to his household and are\nmade his companions more particularly, would naturally be expected to\nshow the strongest development of the principle. Conscience, in their\ndealings with man, constitutes their religion, and they often exercise\nit in a way which would put many a human being to the blush. This\nfeeling it is that induces the dog to make himself the guardian of his\nmaster\u2019s property, and often to defend that property at the risk of his\nlife. However hungry may be the dog that is placed in charge of his\nmaster\u2019s dinner, nothing would, as a rule, tempt him to touch a morsel\nof the food, for he would rather die of starvation than eat the food\nwhich belongs to his master. Often have we seen field-laborers at work\nat one end of a large field, while their coats and their dinner were at\nthe other end, guarded by a dog. Not the least uneasiness did they seem\nto manifest about the safety of their property, for well they knew\nthat the faithful animal would never allow any one to touch either the\nclothes or the provisions.\n\nThere could hardly be a stronger instance of moral responsibility than\nthe one which I shall now relate, which is substantially the same as\nappears in Wood\u2019s \u201cMan and Beasts Here and Hereafter.\u201d Living in an\nunprotected part of Scotland was a poor woman, who unexpectedly became\npossessed of a large sum of money. She would have taken it to the bank,\ncould she have left the house, but lack of bodily health prevented\nher from so doing. At last she asked the advice of a butcher of her\nacquaintance, telling him that she was afraid to live in the house\nwith so much money about her. \u201cNever fear,\u201d said the butcher, \u201cI will\nleave my dog with you, and I\u2019ll warrant you that no one will dare to\nenter your house.\u201d Towards the close of the day the dog was brought,\nand chained up close to the place where the money was deposited. That\nvery night a robber made his way into the house and was proceeding\nto carry off the money, when he was seized by the dog, who held him\na prisoner until assistance arrived. The thief turned out to be the\nbutcher himself, who thought he had made sure of the money, but he had\nnot considered that his dog was a better moralist than himself, for who\nwould, rather than betray a defenceless woman, take her part against\nhis own master. Kindly pardoned by the woman, the intending robber made\nhis way home, and it is to be hoped that for the future he learned a\nlesson from his own dog and amended the evil of his ways.\n\nNot only does the dog guard the property which is intrusted to its\ncharge, but frequently goes a little further and assumes a charge on\nits own account. When the writer was a boy living in the country, where\nmuch of the spring and summer of the year was spent in working upon a\nfarm, he became on very excellent terms with a little bull-terrier,\nnamed Tip, that belonged to a certain farmer by whom he was employed.\nUpon my first introduction to Tip, I felt a sort of aversion towards\nhim. This grew out of the mysterious actions of the animal. He was\nalways around when I was busy at work and seemed to be eying me in a\nsuspicious sort of manner, which at times made me feel very unpleasant.\nAfter the lapse of a few days I discovered that I was not so closely\nwatched as before, and that I was treated by him as he was accustomed\nto treat the other members of the family. Upon inquiry I learned\nthat he always acted in this way toward people whom he did not know\nintimately, and that, after a time, he had confidence in their honesty\nand left them alone. While in many instances Tip was entirely wrong\nin his surmises, yet cases are recalled where the dog was right and\nacted in a manner that would have been creditable to a human being.\nOne of the men employed upon the place, presuming upon the friendship\nof the dog, sought to carry away under cover of darkness something\nbelonging to the farmer, but he was immediately beset by the animal,\nwho was an eye-witness of the proceeding, and compelled to desist\nfrom the intended theft. From that time the man was under the closest\nsurveillance by the dog. Unable to effect a reconciliation, and chafing\nunder the look of suspicion with which he was always greeted, the man\nsoon took his departure, much to the delight and satisfaction of the\nfaithful canine, and was never afterwards seen.\n\nQuite a common form of conscience among the lower animals is that\nwhich may be defined as a recognition of having done wrong, and\nacknowledgment that punishment is deserved. Animals have in their way\nvery pronounced ideas as to right and wrong. When they have committed\nan act which they know will offend their master, they display as keen\na conscience as any human being self-convicted of sin could exhibit.\nIn many instances, the offence in not merely acknowledged, but the\ncreature remains miserable until forgiveness has been granted. This\ncondition of mind, if manifested by man, is called Penitence, and,\nassuredly, it cannot be known by any other name when manifested by\nanimals that are lower down in the scale of life. My little dog\nFrisky, about whom mention has already been made, affords a very fine\nillustration of this phase of conscience. Whenever he did wrong, the\nseverest punishment that could be meted out to him was to ignore his\npresence and decline his offered paw. For hours the poor fellow would\nmoan and cry, and even refuse food, when he thought I was angry with\nhim. But a word or a look of forgiveness was sufficient to change his\nsadness into joy. A shaking of hands, so to speak, would then follow,\nand master and dog would be good friends again. No love could be more\nintense than his, and this was especially shown when I would return\nfrom a short absence, when the little fellow would almost overwhelm me\nby his affectionate caresses.\n\nNo loftier characteristic adorns humanity than Love. But how far it\nis shared by the lower animals it is now our purpose to inquire. That\nthere are many phases of development cannot be doubted. Sympathy, or\nthat capacity of feeling for the sufferings of another, is the first\nphase. Many, and perhaps all, living creatures possess the capacity\nof sympathy. In the majority of cases it is not restricted to their\nown species, but is extended to those beings which appear to have\nvery little in common with each other. Ordinarily, however, it is\nexhibited between animals of the same species, and it is often seen in\nthe dog, as, for example, where a dog, having been cured of an injury,\nhas been observed to take a fellow-sufferer to his benefactor. Such\nsympathy, it need hardly be remarked, could not be carried out unless\nthe animals possessed a language adequately defined to enable them\nto transmit ideas from one to the other. Cats are often kind to each\nother, sympathizing under difficulties, and helping their friends who\nrequire assistance. A cat, belonging to a friend, has been known, when\noppressed with the cares of a family, to employ a half-grown kitten\nto take charge of the young while she went for a ramble. Between the\ncat and the dog an enmity exists that is hereditary, and yet, when in\ngood hands, they are sure to become very loving friends, and even to\nshow considerable sympathy towards each other. Such an exhibition of\ngood feeling was observed by the writer a few years ago. The dog, a\nlarge black Newfoundland, had contracted a warm and devoted friendship\nfor a gray cat that was an inmate of the same family. When the cat was\nassailed by one of her kind, or by a strange dog, the Newfoundland\nwould pick her up in his mouth and carry her to the house out of reach\nof danger, the cat maintaining all the while the most perfect serenity\nof composure, knowing that she was in the care of one who meant her no\nill. When the same cat would become sick, the Newfoundland would lie\ndown by her side, caress her with his tongue, and show in every way\npossible that he was sorry that she was sick.\n\nMany examples are recorded of birds feeling sympathy with the lost or\ndeserted young of other species, and that have taken upon themselves\nthe task of feeding the starving children. A pair of robins had\nconstructed a nest near to the writer\u2019s home in the country, where in\ndue season a family of four children was raised. Disaster soon came to\nthe little ones, for both parents were slain by some wicked boys of the\nneighborhood. There dwelt in the same locality a pair of bluebirds,\nbut between the two families there had never been apparent the least\ninterchange of friendship. Each family kept to itself, and attended to\nits own business. But when the cry of the young robins in their piteous\ndemands for food rent the air, the bluebirds came over to their home\nto discover what the trouble was. They were not slow to perceive the\nsad state of things. Their sympathies were at once aroused, and their\nenergies soon bent in the direction of relieving the sufferings of the\nlittle orphaned robins. For the next two weeks they had all they could\ndo in providing meat for their own and the robins\u2019 young.\n\n[Illustration: FOUR ORPHANED ROBINS.\n\nKind-Hearted Bluebirds Assuming the Role of Parents.]\n\nWhile capable of showing sympathy for near as well as distant kin,\nthe lower animals have also the capacity to sympathize with human\nbeings in distress. Cats occasionally manifest a sympathy for suffering\nhumanity. As for sympathy displayed by dogs, there is no need to cite\nexamples. No human being, I am safe in saying, was ever free from\ntroubles of some kind, and I am equally sure that no one who had a\ncompanionable dog felt that he was without sympathy. Full well does\nthe dog know when his master is suffering pain or sorrow, and his nose\npushed into his master\u2019s hand, or laid affectionately upon his knee,\nis a sign of sympathy worth possessing, even though it exists only in\nthe heart of a dog. From that moment there has been established a bond\nbetween the soul of the master and the dog, and certainly no one can\nbelieve that the bond can ever be severed by the death of the material\nbody, whether of the man or the animal.\n\nThat Friendship, which is another branch of love, exists among animals,\nis a well-known fact. But it is among the domesticated animals that it\nmost frequently exhibits itself. Horses, as every one knows, which have\nbeen accustomed to draw the same carriage are usually sure to be great\nfriends, and if one be exchanged the other becomes quite miserable for\nwant of his companion and seems unable to throw any spirit into his\nwork. Dogs, too, are very apt to strike up friendships with each other.\nAmong animals it is not confined to one species, but is occasionally\nfound to exhibit itself in those which might be supposed to be\npeculiarly incongruous in their nature. That cows and sheep live, as a\nrule, on good terms with each other in the same pasture is a familiar\nexperience, though sometimes the former are a little prone to domineer\nover the latter. But a very strong affection sometimes exists between\nanimals so different, and when once they have accustomed themselves to\neach other\u2019s society neither can be happy without the other. The goat\nand the horse frequently become friends, and a peculiarly vicious horse\nhas been known to allow a goat to take undue liberties with him without\nthe least manifestation of resentment. In many places the stable-cat\nis quite an institution. Its usual place of repose is upon the back of\nthe horse, and the latter has been known to grow very uneasy if left\nfor any length of time without the companionship of his little friend.\nA very singular instance of friendship occurred at the rural home of a\nnear relative. He had a fine mastiff which had taken a fancy to a brood\nof young chickens, and which acted as their protector. They were not\nat all unwilling to accept him in this capacity, as they followed him\nabout just as though he had been their mother. Quite an interesting\nsight it was to watch the dog and the chickens as they would take\ntheir _siesta_. The dog used to lie on his side, and the chickens would\nnestle all about him, though one chicken in particular would invariably\nscramble upon the dog\u2019s head, and another just over his eye, but both\nparties appeared equally satisfied with this remarkable arrangement.\n\nAlready have we referred to the intense yearning which is felt by many\nof the lower animals for human society. This yearning is indeed but the\naspiration of the lower spirit developed by contact with the higher in\ndomesticated animals or those which are in perpetual contact with man.\nThis feeling is a matter of no great surprise. But that it should be\nexhibited in feral animals and birds, and even in insects, is a fact\nwell worth considering, as it furnishes a clew to some of the many\nproblems of life which are as yet unsolved. That power of attraction\nexercised by the spirit of man upon that of the lower creation is well\nexemplified in many wild animals, who are known to forsake the society\nof their own kind for the companionship of the being whom they feel to\nbe higher than themselves.\n\nPerhaps one of the wariest of wild animals is the squirrel. He is\nhorribly afraid of human beings, and if a man, woman or child come to\nthe windward of him, the little animal is sure to scamper off at his\nfleetest pace, scuttle up the nearest tree, and conceal himself behind\nsome branch. Yet, wild as he may be, he is peculiarly susceptible to\nthe influence of the human spirit, and for the sake of human society\nwill utterly abandon that of his own kind. I once knew a pet gray\nsquirrel by the name of Charley. He had been taken from the nest when\nvery young. His home for awhile was one of those whirl-about cages.\nCharley did not like his cage, but preferred to be outside in the\nunrestrained enjoyment of the dictates of his own free will. So it was\ndifficult to keep him behind the bars. When awake he loved to follow\nhis own devices; but when tired he usually slept on a soft cushion on\nthe sofa, or found his way into some bed-room where he would nestle\nunder a pillow. Nothing was more to his satisfaction and pleasure than\na share of the bed of his mistress, but he was always a troublesome\nnest-fellow. Charley had, as must be obvious, perfect freedom. He was\nallowed to go as he pleased. There was no coercion in his case. Had he\nwished to escape, there was nothing to prevent, and nothing bound him\nto his mistress but an \u201cever-lengthening chain\u201d of love and aspirations\nwhich none but a human being could satisfy. The sparrow, one of the\nmost independent and self-reliant of birds, has been known to abandon\nits kind for the sake of human beings. Wood cites a case of a bird of\nthis species that had been rescued from some boys who had been robbing\nthe nest. The bird was brought home, but was never confined in a cage,\nbut was permitted to fly freely about the house. As there was a cat\nabout the house, she had to be closely watched lest she might do the\nbird some injury. On Sundays, when the family went to church and no one\nremained to keep an eye on the cat, the sparrow was turned into the\ngarden, where it flew about until the family\u2019s return. The opening of\nthe dining-room window by its mistress, and the display of her ungloved\nhands, was the signal for its entry. But if the mistress stood by the\nwindow with her gloves on, then the bird showed not the slightest\ndisposition to enter.\n\nSuch is the intensity of the love which the lower animals sometimes\nentertain toward man that they have been known to grieve themselves to\ndeath on account of his loss. A dog by the name of Prince, who lived\nin the family where the writer spent a few weeks of a summer, is a\ncase in point. He had a good master, and one to whom he was strongly\nattached. The year before the master sickened and died, and Prince\nfelt the loss so keenly that he refused to take any food, and even to\nnotice the surviving members of the family. He was pitiable to behold.\nLife had lost all attractions to him, and he showed that he was slowly\nbut surely grieving his life away. Some few weeks after the writer\u2019s\ndeparture, the poor animal breathed his last, and his spirit, it is\nto be hoped, went to join that of his master, while his ashes became\nmingled with the dust of the earth as his master\u2019s had been.\n\nWhat a wonderful power do some animals have of returning to their\nbeloved master, even though they have been conveyed to a considerable\ndistance. This is especially true of the dog. So many examples of such\nfeats are on record that I refrain from mentioning them, but will\ngive but a single example. Rover, a pet greyhound that belonged to\nthe writer, had become such an annoyance to the neighborhood where he\nlived, that the master determined to provide him a home in the country\nsome fifty miles away. He was conveyed to his destination in a covered\nwagon, and after his new master had reached home, the poor animal was\nplaced in a stable for several days, where he was daily visited and\nfed, and every effort possible made to attach him to the place and\nfamily. On the fourth day of his arrival he was given his freedom. With\na long, loud wail he saluted the neighborhood, and the next moment was\noff at full speed across the country, all efforts to stop him being\nunavailing. In less than a week from his leaving he was at home again,\nhungry and jaded out with fatigue and travel, but not too tired nor too\nhungry to express the great joy he felt for the old master. How he ever\naccomplished the journey, and what vicissitudes and difficulties he\nencountered on the way, no one will ever know. After this I had not the\nheart to send him away again, but put up with his capers and tricks as\nbest I could, and when complaints were preferred against him endeavored\nto excuse them as a parent is prone to do in the case of a spoiled and\nwayward child. But a day arrived when Rover to me was no more. What\nhad become of him I was never able to discover, but I always blamed a\nnear-by neighbor, a man who had neither love nor charity in his soul,\nfor his sudden disappearance.\n\nThat cats are selfish animals, attaching themselves to localities and\nnot to individuals, I do not believe. This idea has, perhaps, some\nground of truth, for the nature of a cat is not so easy to understand\nas that of a dog. But when a cat is not understood, it is very probable\nthat she cares less for the inhabitants of the house than for the house\nitself. Frequent instances are known by the writer where cats have\nbeen in the habit of moving about with their owners, and have been as\nmuch unconcerned as dogs would have been. True they have, like women,\na curious and prying disposition. I have seen them in new and strange\nquarters go sniffing about every room of a house, and at last settle\ndown in some cozy, comfortable place, well satisfied with their tour\nof investigation. Where the house fell short of their expectations, if\nthey have been cats that have received due consideration from their\nmistresses or masters, they have tried to live down their objections\nand to learn to be happy and contented with their lot. Only cats that\nhave not been much thought of are inclined to show their disapproval\nto changes of residence which they deemed unsuitable by refusing to\nstay with their masters. Blackie, a favorite cat of ours, never seemed\nto care where her home was, so long as her friends were there to pet,\ncaress and pamper her with choice dainties.\n\nAll animals, so far as can be learned, have not only a capacity for the\nsociety of man, but an absolute yearning for it. This feeling may be in\nabeyance, from not having received any development at the hands of man,\nbut it nevertheless exists, and only awaits to be educed by some one\ncapable of appreciating the character of the animal. Tigers, as is well\nknown, are not generally considered the friends of mankind, and yet the\nIndian fakirs will travel over the country with tame tigers, which they\nsimply lead about with a slight string, and which will permit small\nchildren to caress them with their hands without evincing the least\ndisposition to hurt them.\n\nWhen we survey the examples of love displayed by animals towards human\nbeings, which we have just detailed, and recall the hundreds that we\nknow and have read about, is it possible to believe that such love\ncan perish? We apprehend not. Unselfish love as this, which survives\ningratitude and ill-treatment, belongs to the spirit and not to the\nbody, and all beings capable of feeling such love must possess immortal\nspirits. All may not have an opportunity of manifesting it, but all\npossess the capacity and would, were the conditions favorable, manifest\nit openly.\n\nFew animals, as may easily be imagined, manifest Conjugal Love. Most\nspecies have no particular mates, but merely meet by chance, and\nseemingly never trouble themselves about each other again. No real\nconjugal love, therefore, can exist, and it is rather curious that in\nsuch animals a durable friendship is frequently formed between two\nindividuals of the same sex. But when we come to polygamous animals,\nsuch as the stag among mammals and the domestic poultry among birds, we\nmeet with a decided advance towards conjugal love, although as in the\ncase of polygamous man, that love must necessarily be of an inferior\ncharacter. There is seen, at all events, a sense of appropriation on\neither side. Take the example of the barn-yard fowl, as has already\nbeen mentioned in that part of the chapter which deals with jealousy,\nwhere it is shown that the proprietor of the harem resents any attempt\non the part of another male to infringe on his privileges.\n\nThis brings us to the consideration of birds, where the many are mated\nfor the nesting-season, but subsequently do not seem to care more\nfor each other than they do for their broods of children. If one of\nthe pair be killed at the nesting-time the survivor, after a brief\nlamentation, consoles itself in a few hours or days with another\npartner, for there really appears to be a supply of spare partners of\nboth sexes always at hand. And now we come to those creatures which are\nmated for life, and often we find among them a conjugal love as strong\nand as sincere as among monogamous mankind. Prominent among them are\nthe eagle, the raven and the dove. And while we praise the turtle-dove\nfor its conjugal fidelity, and credit it with the possession of all\nthat is sweet, and good, and gentle, how remarkable is it that we\nforget to accredit with the same virtue the eagle and the raven, that\nare the types of all that is violent, and dark, and cunning. There are\nmany examples in existence of the conjugal love among such birds, but\nthey are so well known that reference to them is unnecessary. The case\nof the mandarin duck, already narrated, affords a strong instance of\nconjugal love wherein the lady was faithful and the husband avenged\nhimself on the destruction of his domestic peace.\n\n[Illustration: MATED FOR LIFE.\n\nConjugal Fidelity Shown by a Pair of Doves.]\n\nSo numerous as are the instances of love shown by parents among the\nlower animals towards their offspring, yet it is a very singular fact\nthat few, if any, trustworthy accounts of Filial Love, or the love\nof children toward their parents, are to be found. But we must look\nto man if we would understand the lower animals. Even human nature\nmust attain a high state of development before filial love can find\nany place in the affections. In savages it barely exists at all, and\ncertainly does not survive into mature years. It is the glory of the\nNorth American Indian boy, at as early an age as possible, to despise\nhis mother and defy his father. And the women are just as bad as the\nmen. Rejoicing in the pride of youth and strength, they utterly despise\nthe elder and feeble women, even though they be their own mothers, and\nwill tear from their hands the food they are about to eat, on the plea\nthat old women are of no use, and that the food would be much better\nemployed in giving nourishment to the young and strong. The Fijians\nhave not the least scruple in burying a father alive when he becomes\ninfirm, and assist in strangling a mother that she may keep him company\nin the land of spirits. Both the Bosjesmen of South Africa and the\nAustralian seem to have not the least idea that any duty is owing to a\nparent from a child, nor have they much notion of duty from a parent\ntoward the child. If the father be angry with any one for any reason,\nhe has a way of relieving his feelings by driving his spear through the\nbody of his wife or child, whichever one of the two happens to be the\nnearer. Even the mother treats her child with less consideration than a\ncow does her calf, and leaves the little creature to shift for itself\nat an age when the children of civilized parents are hardly thought fit\nto be left alone for a few minutes. This being the case with parental\nlove, it may be readily imagined that filial affection can have not the\nslightest chance for development, and it is very much to be questioned\nwhether in the savage it can really be said to exist at all in the\nsense understood by enlightened peoples. Therefore, as in the lower\nhuman races, we find that filial love either is very trifling, or is\nabsolutely non-existent, need we wonder that in the lower animals such\nfew, if any, indications of its presence should be found?\n\nNow, as to the subject of Parental Love, and the various ways in which\nit manifests itself. There are many writers who claim that parental\nlove in the lower animals is not identical with that of man. They\naffirm that it is only a blind instinct, and, in order to mark more\nstrongly the distinction between man and beast, call the parental\nlove of the latter by the name of storg\u00eb. Speaking for myself, I must\ndeclare that I am unable to perceive any distinction between the two,\nsave that in civilized man the parental love is better regulated than\namong the lower animals. But, as has been seen, it is not regulated at\nall among the uncivilized races, and, in truth, many of the beasts are\nfar better parents than most savages. Nor can I understand why the word\nstorg\u00eb should be applied to parental love among the lower animals and\nnot to the same feeling in man. Among Greek writers the word, together\nwith the verb from which it is derived, is applied to the love between\nhuman parents and children. It is so applied by Plato, and in the\nsame sense by Sophocles and others. One argument adduced by those who\ndeny the identity of the feeling in both cases is that parental love\nendures throughout life in man, while it expires with the adolescence\nof the young in the lower animals. This is doubtless true, as a rule,\nwith civilized man, but in the case of the savage, as has previously\nbeen shown, it does not last longer than that of a bird, a cat or a\ndog, taking into consideration the relative duration of life. And the\nreason is identical in both cases. Were this love to exist through life\nin the savage, the beast or the bird, the race would become extinct,\nfor neither race is able to support its children longer than their\ntime of helplessness. The beast and the bird cannot, and the savage\nwill not, provide for the future. It is therefore evident that if the\nyoung had to depend upon their parents for subsistence, they would soon\nperish from lack of food. Exceptions there are to this general rule,\nand always, as far as can be determined, in the case of domesticated\nanimals whose means of subsistence are already insured.\n\nSeveral of such cases have come to my notice. I shall instance but\none. A friend of mine has two terriers, a mother and a daughter. The\nstrongest bond of love and fellowship unites them. They always sit\nclose together, and the mother playfully pinches her daughter all over.\nShould they by chance become separated, even for a very short time,\nthe daughter comes up wagging her tail, and then licks her mother\u2019s\nnose and mouth. When hunting together, they always act in concert,\neach one taking a hole, and one keeping watch while the other scrapes\naway the earth. The meaning of each other\u2019s whine or bark is perfectly\nunderstood, and no two persons could understand their own language\nbetter than do these dogs theirs, nor be more comprehensible to each\nother.\n\nSelf-abnegation is perhaps one of the most beautiful characteristics\nwhich parental love can give. This is particularly shown when the young\nare in danger. A human mother in charge of her child will defy a danger\nbefore which she would shrink if alone, and in its defence would dare\ndeeds of which most strong men would be incapable, for during the time\nher selfhood is extinguished, and her being is sunk into that of her\nchild. Such abnegation becomes a true mother, for if she would not\nconsent to do and dare for the sake of her offspring, she would degrade\nherself below the beasts and the birds, who hesitate not in performing\nthat duty to their children, though _savants_ do declare that they\npossess only storg\u00eb, whatever they may mean by it, and not parental\nlove.\n\n[Illustration: EVIDENCE OF CONJUGAL AFFECTION.\n\nMale Humming-Bird Feeding His Partner, and Ready to Act in Her Defence.]\n\nEveryone who has paid even a passing attention to the habits of birds\nmust have noticed the vigilance a pair of catbirds exercise over their\nnest when containing young birds. Neither parent, when the other is\nabsent, relaxes this vigilance, for they consider no labor, no care, no\nwatchfulness, too great or too exacting where their offspring are to be\nbenefited. Let an enemy approach, even if it be man himself, and they\nare beside themselves with anger and resentment, flying into the very\nface of the audacious intruder, as though they would pluck his eyes\nout as a just punishment for his presumption and temerity. I have seen\nthe nest of a catbird attacked by a black snake, and crushed within\nthe folds of the hideous serpent the father-bird, but the disaster\ndid not cause the mother-bird to desist from the attack, for, utterly\noblivious of all else but her offspring and the snake, she fought on\nuntil the latter was forced to glide away into the bushes to escape\nher infuriated assaults. But no species of bird is more courageous in\ndefence of its nest than the little ruby-throated humming-bird. It is\nreally dangerous to visit the nest when with eggs or young. I would as\nsoon attempt to assail the dome-shaped nest of our common hornet as\nthat of this humming-bird. It is as much as one can do to protect his\neyes from the lightning-like attacks of these birds, so swiftly and so\nunerringly do they direct their blows at these points.\n\nSo great is the affection and solicitude of the red-eyed vireo for her\nyoung, that she will scarcely leave the nest when the hand is stretched\nout a few inches over the mouth of the structure. And then when she\ndoes leave, it is not in a hurried, precipitate manner, but with a\nquiet, deliberate movement that excites one\u2019s admiration and makes\none vow never to abuse such simple, childlike confidence. I have even\nplaced my hand upon the sitting-bird without disturbing the current of\nher brooding thoughts, or the peaceful serenity of her soul. A rough\ndash at the nest tends to frighten her away _instanter_, but when the\nhand is reached out to it slowly and silently the bird seems to act as\nthough it had nothing to fear, and remains calm and self-possessed.\n\nWho is not familiar with the proverbial skill of the Carolina dove in\nfeigning lameness when her nest is being approached? Without a cry, and\nwith scarcely a rustle of her feathers, she slips out of her nest upon\nthe ground, and by a series of man\u0153uvres, as if desperately wounded,\ngrovels along on her belly in the dust till she has led her enemy a\nlong journey from the site of the nest, when she will take to wing and\nfly away into a coppice or a clump of brushwood.\n\nThat birds should manifest a love for the young which they hatch has\nalways seemed a strange problem to me. I can see how that, in the\ncase of a mammal, the mother should feel a love for the creature who\nis absolutely a part of herself--whose very life-blood is drawn from\nher veins. But this is not necessarily the case with birds. If, as\noften happens with poultry, the eggs of several hens are placed under\none bird for hatching, the hen that hatches them knows no difference\nbetween the chickens that come from her own eggs and those which\nproceed from eggs laid by others. Even where the eggs belong to birds\nof different species, as to the common Muscovy-duck for example, the\nhen displays as much affection for the young ducklings, despite the\ndisparity of instinct and habit, as she does had they proceeded from\nher own eggs. May it not be that parental love has different channels\nof transmission, and that in such a case as this the emanation from\nthe sitting-hen may be the vehicle of parental love toward the young\nwhich are to be hatched? Certain it is that a sitting-hen, as many\nof us have observed, is altogether a changed being, both in attitude\nand expression. She is entirely absorbed in the eggs when she is\nincubating, and, though she may not have the intellect to distinguish\na mere lump of chalk from one of her own eggs, yet love is altogether\nindependent of intellect, and may exist in all its vigor, and yet may\nbe wasted on an unworthy object.\n\nFishes, as is generally known, are not particularly emotional beings,\nand are not likely to entertain a lasting love for anything. Indeed, in\nsome instances, parental love would be absolutely useless, as in the\ncase of the cod-fish, which could be hardly expected to entertain a\nspecial love for each of the countless thousands of young it produces\nevery year. The life of the mother would be an unenviable one, if\nher lot were to look after her young as soon as they are hatched,\nespecially when the varied foes that beset her eggs as soon as they\nare produced, are considered. Just as there are fishes that possess\nconjugal love, so there are fishes that possess parental love, and\nprominent among these are the sticklebacks. But in the case of these\nfishes the most curious part is that parental love is shown by the\nfather, and not by the mother, the latter having nothing to do but\nto lay the eggs, and leaving to the former the exclusive labor of\nproviding for the young.\n\n[Illustration: Copyright 1900 by A. R. DUGMORE.\n\nWOOD-THRUSH SETTING.]\n\nEnough of instances of true parental love among the lower animals\ncould be given to fill this entire book, but a sufficient number have\nbeen adduced to show that the feeling is the same in man as in them,\nalthough, of course, the mode of manifesting it is different. We have\nshown the fallacy of the theory that parental love is life-enduring in\nman and very brief among the animals, and have seen that, in proportion\nto the duration of life, it is quite as brief among the savages as\namong the animals. And, again, we have seen where it has been lost and\nthen restored, and also where it was never lost; where in animals, as\nin man, it has caused complete abnegation of self, the parents living\nfor their children, and not for themselves, and where it has given\nstrength to the weak and courage to the timid. Even the very fishes\nhave been shown to be amenable to the same influences as man, and\ncould we have carried our illustrations still lower down the scale we\nwould have found the same influences existing among much humbler forms\nof animal existences. In conclusion, there is no resisting the fact\nthat parental love, one of the highest and holiest feelings of which a\nloving and immortal soul can be capable, is shared equally by man and\nbeast, according to their respective capacities.\n\n\n\n\nLIFE PROGRESSIVE.\n\n\nNo one can doubt that the earth\u2019s crust, so far as it has been\ndeciphered by man, presents us with a record, imperfect though it be,\nof the past. Whether, however, the known and admitted imperfections\nof its records, geological and pal\u00e6ontological, are sufficiently\ntrustworthy to account satisfactorily for the lack of direct evidence\nrecognizable in some modern hypotheses, may be a matter of individual\nopinion, but there can be little doubt that they are sufficiently\nextensive to throw the balance of evidence decisively in favor of\nsome theory of continuity, as opposed to any theory of intermittent\nand occasional action, which some writers have strenuously and\nintelligently advocated. No marks of mighty and general convulsions of\nnature exist, as the seeming breaks which divide the grand series of\nstratified rocks into numerous isolated formations would indicate. They\nare simply indications of the imperfection of our knowledge. Science\nwill never, in all probability, point to a complete series of deposits,\nor to a complete succession of life, which shall link one geological\nperiod to another. But that such deposits and such an unbroken\nsuccession must have existed at one time we may well feel sure, and\nstand ready to believe that nowhere in the long series of fossiliferous\nrocks has there been a total break, but that there has inevitably been\na complete continuity of life, as well as a more or less complete\ncontinuity of sedimentation from the Laurentian period to the present\nday. One generation, speaking figuratively, hands on the lamp of\nlife to the next, and each system of rocks is the direct offspring\nof its predecessor in time. Though it is apparent that there has not\nbeen continuity in any given area, still the geological chain could\nnot have been snapped at one point and taken up again at a totally\ndifferent one. Hence we arrive at the conviction that in geology, as in\nother sciences, continuity is the fundamental law, and that the lines\nof demarcation between the great formations are but gaps in our own\nknowledge.\n\nThrough the study of fossils, as is well known, geologists have been\nled to the all-important generalization that the vast series of\nfossiliferous or sedimentary rocks may be separated into a number of\ndefinite groups or formations, each of which being characterized by\nits own organic remains, but not properly and strictly, it must be\nunderstood, by the occurrence therein of any one particular fossil.\nHowever, a formation may contain some particular fossil or fossils\nnot occurring outside of that formation, thus enabling an observer\nto identify a given group with tolerable certainty; or, as very\noften happens, some particular stratum or subgroup of a series, may\ncontain peculiar fossils, whereby its existence may be determined with\nconsiderable readiness in divers localities. Each great formation, let\nit be said, is properly characterized by the association of certain\nfossils, the predominance of certain families or orders, or by an\nassemblage of fossil remains that represent the life of the period\nduring which the formation was deposited.\n\nFossils, then, not only enable us to determine the age of the deposits\nin which they are found, but they also further enable us to arrive at\nsome very important conclusions respecting the manner in which the\nfossiliferous bed was deposited, and, consequently, to the condition\nof the particular region occupied by the bed at the period of its\nformation. Beds that contain the remains of animals, such as now\ninhabit rivers, we know to be fluviatile in their origin, and that\nat one time they must have either constituted actual river-beds, or\nbeen deposited by the overflowing of ancient streams. But if the beds\ncontain the remains of mollusks, minute crustaceans or fish, such as\nare found to-day in lakes, then we conclude that they are lacustrine,\nand were deposited beneath the waters of former lakes. And, lastly,\nif the remains of animals such as now people the oceans are to be\nmet with in the beds, then we know that they are marine in origin,\nand that they are fragments of an old sea-bottom. On the whole, the\nconditions under which a bed was deposited, whether in a shallow sea,\nin the immediate vicinity of a coast-line, or in deep water, can\noften be determined with considerable accuracy from the nature of the\nrelics of the organisms which they contain. But we have thus far been\ndealing with the remains of aquatic animals. When, however, we consider\nthe remains of aerial and terrestrial animals, or of plants, the\ndetermination of the conditions of deposition is not made out with such\nan absolute certainty. Remains of land-animals would, of course, occur\nin sub-aerial deposits, that is, in beds, like blown sand, accumulated\nupon the land, but the most of such remains of such animals are found\nin deposits which have been laid down in water, and hence their present\nposition is due to the fact that their former owners were either\ndrowned in rivers or lakes, or borne out to sea by water-channels.\nAnimals possessed of the power of flight might also similarly find\ntheir way into aqueous deposits, but, when it is remembered that many\nbirds and mammals habitually spent a great part of their time in the\nwater, it is not to be wondered at that they should present themselves\nas fossils in sedimentary rocks. Even plants, such as have undoubtedly\ngrown upon land, do not prove that the bed in which they are found was\nformed on land, for many of their remains are extraneous to the bed\nin which they now occur, having reached their present site by falling\ninto lakes or rivers, or by being carried out to sea by floods or\ngales of winds. Still, there are many cases which obviously show that\nplants have grown on the very spot where we now find them. The great\ncoal-fields of the Carboniferous Age, it is now generally conceded, are\nthe result of the growth _in situ_ of the plants which compose coal, as\nwell as that they grew on vast marshy or partially submerged tracts of\nlevel alluvial land.\n\nWhile fossils enable us in many cases to arrive at important\nconclusions as to the climate of the period in which they lived, yet it\nis only in the case of marine fossils, which constitute the majority\nof such remains, that we acquire such knowledge, but it is mostly the\ntemperature of the sea which can thus be determined. However, let\nit be remembered that, owing to the existence of heated currents,\nthe marine climate of a designated area does not necessarily imply a\ncorrespondingly warm climate in the adjoining land, for land-climates\ncan only be determined by the relics of land-animals or land-plants,\nand these are comparatively rare as fossils. But all conclusions on\nthis head are really based upon the existing distribution of vegetable\nand animal life upon the globe, and are therefore liable to be vitiated\nby the considerations that no certainty exists that the habits and\nrequirements of an extinct animal were exactly similar to those of its\nnearest living relative; that far back in time groups of organisms, so\nunlike anything we know at the present day, are met with, which render\nall conjectures of climate based upon their supposed habits more or\nless uncertain and unsafe; that in the case of marine animals we are\nas yet very far from knowing the precise limits of distribution of\nmany species within our present seas as to render conclusions drawn\nfrom living forms in relation to extinct species unsatisfactory and,\nprobably, incorrect; and, finally, that the distribution of animals\nto-day, is certainly dependent on other conditions than climate alone,\nthe causes limiting the range of given animals being assuredly such as\nbelong to the existing order of things, and are different from what\nthey were in former times, not necessarily because the climate has\nchanged, but because of the alteration of other conditions that are\nessential to the life of the species or conducive to its extension. But\nnotwithstanding the difficulties in the way, we are able in many cases\nto deduce completely trustworthy conclusions concerning the climate\nof a given geological period by an examination of its fossil remains.\nIn Eocene times, or at the beginning of the Tertiary Period, the\nclimate of what is now Western Europe was of a tropical or sub-tropical\ncharacter, the Eocene beds being found to contain the remains of\ncowries and volutes, such shells as now inhabit tropical seas, together\nwith the fruits of palms and remains of other tropical plants. And\nfurther, it has been shown that in Miocene times, or about the middle\nof the same epoch, the central parts of Europe were peopled with a\nluxuriant flora resembling that of the warmer parts of the United\nStates, and that Greenland, now buried for the most part beneath a vast\nice-shroud, was warm enough to support a large number of trees, shrubs\nand other plants that are at present denizens of the temperate regions\nof the globe.\n\nAnd lastly, from the study of fossils, geologists first learned to\ncomprehend a fact, that is, that the crust of the earth is liable to\nlocal elevations and subsidences, which may be regarded as of cardinal\nimportance in all modern geological theories and speculations. Long\nafter the remains of shells and those of other marine animals were\nfirst observed in the solid rocks constituting the dry land, and at\ngreat elevations above the sea-level, attempts were made to explain\nthis unintelligible phenomenon upon the hypothesis that these remains\nor fossils were mere _lusus natur\u00e6_, due to some \u201cplastic virtue latent\nin the earth.\u201d But the common-sense of science soon rejected this idea,\nand it was universally agreed that these bodies were really the relics\nof animals that once lived in the sea. When once this was admitted,\nfurther steps in the right way of thinking became comparatively easy,\nand at the present day no geological doctrine stands on a surer\nfoundation than that which teaches that our existing continents and\nislands, fixed and immovable as they appear, have been repeatedly sunk\nbeneath the ocean and just as repeatedly been lifted above its waters.\n\nNot only have fossils an important bearing upon geology and\nphysiography as has been seen, but they have relations, most\ncomplicated and weighty in character, with the science of biology, or\nthe study of living beings. No adequate understanding of zo\u00f6logy and\nbotany is possible without some acquaintance with the types of plants\nand animals that have passed away, for there are numerous speculative\nproblems in the domain of vital science, which, if soluble at all,\ncan only hope to find their key in researches carried out on extinct\norganisms.\n\nNo attempt will be made by the writer to discuss fully the biological\nrelations of fossils. Such an undertaking would afford matter for a\nseparate volume. All that I purpose in this chapter is to indicate very\ncursorily the principal points of pal\u00e6ontological teaching, so that my\nreaders can acquire some idea of the progression from lower to higher\ntypes that life has made throughout the geological ages. Preliminary to\nthe purpose held in view, let it be understood that the vast majority\nof fossil animals and plants are extinct, or, differently and perhaps\nmore intelligently expressed, belong to species that no longer exist.\nSo far from there being any truth in the old idea that there have\nbeen periodic destructions of all the living beings in existence upon\nthe earth, followed by a corresponding number of new creations of\nplants and animals, the actual facts indicate that the extinction of\nold and introduction of new forms have been processes that have been\ncontinually going on throughout the whole of geologic time. Every\nspecies seems to come into existence at a definite point of time, and\nto disappear finally at another definite period, though there are few,\nif any, instances, in which the times of entrance and exit could be\nfixed with any degree of certainty or precision. Marked differences\nin the actual time during which different species have remained in\nexistence are noticeable, and therefore corresponding differences in\ntheir vertical range, or in the actual amount and thickness of strata\nthrough which they present themselves as fossils, some species being\nfound to extend through two or three formations, and even a few have\nhad a more prolonged existence. More commonly, however, the species\nwhich begin in the commencement of a great formation die out at or\nbefore its close, while those which are introduced for the first time\nnear its middle or end may either become extinct or pass into the next\nsucceeding formation, animals of the lowest and simplest organization\nas a rule having the longest range in time. Microscopic or minute\ndimensions seem to favor longevity, for some of the Foraminifera\nappear to have survived, with little or no perceptible alteration,\nfrom the Silurian Period to the present day, whereas largely and\nhighly-organized animals, though long-lived as individuals, rarely seem\nto live long specifically, and consequently have a restricted vertical\nrange. Exceptions to this rule are, however, occasionally found in some\npersistent types, the Lampshells of the genus Lingula being little\nchanged from the Lingul\u00e6 that swarmed in the Lower Silurian seas, while\nthe existing Pearly Nautilus is the last descendant of a clan nearly as\nold. Some forms, on the other hand, the Ammonites, which are closely\nrelated to the Nautilus, and mostly restricted to certain zones of\nstrata, seem to have enjoyed a comparatively brief lease of life.\n\n[Illustration: LIFE IN THE PRIMORDIAL SEA.\n\nRepresenting Mollusks, Sponges, Crustaceans, Worms and Sea-Weeds.]\n\nBut of the causes that have led to the extinction of plants and\nanimals, little or nothing is known. All that can be affirmed, in our\npresent knowledge, is that the attributes constituting a species do\nnot seem to be intrinsically endowed with permanence, any more than\nthose constituting an individual, though the former may endure whilst\nmany successive generations of the latter have disappeared from the\nearth. Each species, it would seem, has its own life-period--its\nbeginning, culmination and decay--the life-periods of different species\nbeing of very different duration. From all that has been said, it\nmay be gathered that our existing plants and animals are for the\nmost part of modern origin, using the term modern in its geological\nacceptation. Measured by human standards, many of our existing\nanimals, those which are capable of being preserved as fossils, are\nknown to have a high antiquity. Not a few of our shell-fish commenced\ntheir existence at some time in the Tertiary, while one species of\nLampshell--_Terebratulina caput-serpentis_--is believed to have\nsurvived since the Chalk, and a number of the Foraminifera date\nfrom the Carboniferous Period. Thus, we learn the additional fact\nthat our existing flora and fauna do not constitute an aggregation\nof organic forms which were introduced into the world collectively\nand simultaneously, but that they commenced their existence at very\ndifferent times, some being extremely ancient, whilst others are of\ncomparatively recent origin. And this introduction of existing plants\nand animals, as admirably shown by the study of the fossil shells of\nthe Tertiary Period, was a slow and gradual process. Ninety-five\nper cent. of the known fossil shells in the earliest Tertiary are\nfound to be species no longer in existence, the remaining 5 per\ncent. being forms that are known to live in our present seas. In the\nMiddle Tertiary, the extinct types are much fewer in number, while at\nthe close of the Period the proportion with which we started may be\nreversed, not more than 5 per cent. being extinct types.\n\n[Illustration: CARBONIFEROUS TIMES.\n\nAnimals and Plants That Prevailed.]\n\nAll existing animals belong to some five or six primary divisions,\nwhich are technically known as sub-kingdoms, each sub-kingdom to be\nregarded as representing a certain plan of structure, each and every\nanimal embraced therein being merely a modified form of this common\ntype. Not only are all known living animals reducible to these five or\nsix fundamental plans, but also the vast series of fossil forms which\nhave come to light in investigations of the earth\u2019s strata. While many\nfossil groups have no closely-related group now in existence, but in\nno case do we meet with a fossil animal whose peculiarities do not\nentitle it to be placed in one or other of the grand structural types\nalready indicated. The old types differ in many respects from those now\nupon the earth, and the further we go back in time the more pronounced\ndoes the divergence become. A comparison of the animals that lived\nin the old Silurian seas with those now occupying our oceans, would\nindicate differences so great in many instances as almost to place us\nin another world, this divergence being most marked in the Pal\u00e6ozoic\nforms of life, less so in those of the Mesozoic, and still less so in\nthe Tertiary. Each successive formation has therefore presented us with\nanimals becoming gradually more and more like those now in existence.\nThough there is, however, an immense and striking difference between\nthe Silurian animals and those of the present day, yet this difference\nis considerably lessened when a comparison is instituted between the\nSilurian and the Devonian, and this with the Carboniferous, and so on\ndown to the present period.\n\nThus it follows that the animals of any given formation, and the plants\nas well, where the records are preserved, are more like those of the\nnext formation below and of the next formation above, than they are\nlike any others. This fact of itself is an inexplicable one. But if\nwe believe that the animals and plants of any given formation are, in\npart at any rate, the lineal descendants of those of the preceding,\nand the progenitors, also in part at least, of those of the succeeding\nformation, then the fact is readily comprehensible. So frequently\nconfronted is the pal\u00e6ontologist with the phenomenon of closely-related\nforms, especially of animals, succeeding one another in point of time,\nthat he is compelled to believe that such forms have been developed\nfrom some common ancestral type by some process of evolution. Upon\nno other theory can we comprehend why the Post-Tertiary mammals of\nSouth America should consist of edentates, llamas, tapirs, peccaries,\nplatyrhine monkeys and other forms now characterizing this continent,\nwhile those of Australia should be exclusively referable to the\norder of marsupials; and on no other view can we explain the common\noccurrence of transitional forms of life, filling in the gaps between\ngroups now widely distinct. But, on the other hand, there are facts\nwhich point clearly to the presence of some other law than that of\nevolution, and probably of a deeper and more far-reaching character.\nNo theory of evolution can offer a satisfactory explanation for the\nconstant introduction throughout geological time of new forms of life,\nwhich do not appear to be preceded by pre-existent allied types. The\ngraptolites and trilobites have no known predecessors, and leave no\nknown successors. Insects appear suddenly in the Devonian, and spiders\nand myriopods in the Carboniferous, but all under well-differentiated\nand highly-specialized forms. With equal apparent suddenness the\nDibranchiate Cephalopods show themselves in the older Mesozoic\ndeposits, and no known type of the Pal\u00e6ozoic period can be pointed to\nas a possible ancestor. And so does the wonderful dicotyledonous flora\nof the Upper Cretaceous similarly surprise us without any prophetic\nannunciation from the older Jurassic. Many other instances might\nbe cited, but enough has been said to show that the problem is one\nenvironed with profound difficulties.\n\n[Illustration: MESOZOIC FLORA AND FAUNA.\n\nCycads, Pandanus, Deinosaurs, Birds and Pterodactyl.]\n\nAs we pass from the older rocks into the newer, we not only find that\nthe animals of each successive formation become gradually more and\nmore like existing species upon the globe, but we also find that there\nhas been a gradual progression and development in the types of animal\nlife which characterize the geological ages. Taking the earliest-known\nand oldest examples of any given group, it can sometimes be shown\nthat these primitive forms, even though they are highly organized\nthemselves, possessed certain characters such as are now only to be met\nwith in the young of their existing representatives. Such characters,\nwhich are technically called embryonic characters, do not prevent the\nfrequent attainment by their possessors of sizes much more gigantic\nthan those of their nearest living relatives. Moreover, these ancient\nforms of life represent what are called comprehensive types, or types\nthat possess characters in combination such as are nowadays found\nseparately developed in different groups of animals. Such permanent\nretention of embryonic characters and comprehensiveness of structural\ntype are signs of what zo\u00f6logists consider to be comparatively low\ngrades of organization, and their prevalence in the earlier forms of\nanimals is a very astonishing phenomenon, though they are none the less\nperfectly organized so far as their peculiar type is concerned. As we\nascend the geological scale, these features will be found to gradually\ndisappear, higher and even higher forms will be introduced, and\nspecialization of type take the place of the former comprehensiveness.\nThat there has been in the past a general progression of organic\ntypes, and that the appearance of the lower forms of life has in\nthe main preceded that of the higher forms in point of time, is a\nwidely-accepted generalization of pal\u00e6ontology.\n\nNow that it has been seen that there has been a gradual progression\nand development of animal types all through the ages up to the era of\nman, the question naturally occurs whether or not the changes are still\ngoing on which will result in a higher development. Man coexisted in\nWestern Europe with several remarkable mammals in the later portion\nof the Post-Pliocene Period. While we do not know the causes which\nled to the extinction of the mammoth, woolly rhinoceros, cave-lion\nand others, yet we do know that scarcely any mammalian species have\nbecome extinct during the historical period. The species with which man\ncoexisted are such that presumably required a very different climate to\nthat now prevailing in Western Europe. Some of the deposits in which\nman\u2019s remains have been found in association with the bones of extinct\nmammals incontestably show that great changes in the physiography\nand surface-configuration of the country had taken place since the\nperiod of their accumulation, the human implements themselves bearing\nevidence of an exceedingly barbarous condition of the human species.\nPost-Pliocene, or Pal\u00e6olithic man, was clearly unacquainted with the\nuse of the metals. Not only was this the case, but the workmanship of\nthese ancient races was much inferior to that of the later tribes,\nwho were also ignorant of the metals, and who also used nothing but\nweapons and tools of stone, bone, etc., in war, chase and domestic\naffairs. When first man spread over the earth, he had no domestic\nanimals, perhaps not even the dog, and had no knowledge of agriculture.\nHis weapons were of the rudest character, and his houses scarcely\nworthy of the name. No doubt can exist that his food, habits and\nentire manner of living have varied as he has passed from country to\ncountry, for he must then have been far more subject to the influence\nof external circumstances, and in all probability more susceptible of\nchange. Moreover, his form, which is now stereotyped by long ages of\nrepetition, may reasonably be presumed to have been more plastic than\nis now the case. As long as man led a mere animal existence, he would\nbe subject to the same laws, and would vary in the same manner as the\nrest of his fellow-creatures. But when at last he had acquired the\ncapacity of clothing himself, and of making weapons or tools, he has\ntaken away from nature, in a great measure, that power of changing the\nexternal form and structure which she exercises over all other animals.\nFrom the time, then, when his social and sympathetic feelings came\ninto active operation, and his intellectual and moral faculties became\nfairly developed, man\u2019s physical form and structure would not be so\nmuch influenced by natural laws, and, therefore, as an animal, he would\nbecome almost stationary, his environment ceasing to have upon him that\npowerful modifying effect which it exercises over other parts of the\norganic world. But from the moment that his body became less subject\nto the changes of the surrounding universe, his mind would become\nacted upon by the influences which the body had escaped. Every slight\nvariation in his mental and moral nature, which would consequently\nbe brought about, and which would enable him better to guard against\nadverse circumstances, and league together for mutual comfort and\nprotection, would be preserved and accumulated. The better and higher\nspecimens of our race would therefore increase and diffuse themselves,\nwhile the lower and more brutal would succumb and successively die out,\nand that rapid advancement of mental organization would occur, which\nhas raised the very lowest races of men, whose mentality was scarcely\nsuperior to the animal, to that high position which it has attained in\nthe Germanic races. It would be too bold an assertion to say that man\u2019s\nbody has become stationary. Slow and gradual changes still take place,\nalthough his mere bodily structure long ago became of less importance\nto him than that subtle energy, which is termed mind. No one can doubt\nthat _this_ gave his naked and unprotected body clothing against the\nvarying inclemencies of the seasons and enabled him to compete with the\ndeer in swiftness and the wild bull in strength by giving him weapons\nwherewith to capture or subdue them both. Though less capable than most\nother animals of subsisting on the herbs and the fruits of unaided\nnature, it was this wonderful faculty that taught him to govern and\ndirect nature to his own benefit, and compel her to produce food for\nhim when and where he pleased. From the moment, then, when the first\nskin was used as a covering, the first rude spear fashioned to aid in\nthe chase, and the first seed sown or shoot planted, a grand revolution\nwas effected in nature, a revolution which had had no parallel in all\nthe previous cycles of the world\u2019s history, for a being had arisen\nwho was no longer necessarily subject to a changing universe, a being\nwho was in some degree superior to nature, inasmuch as he knew how to\ncontrol and regulate her action, and could maintain himself in unison\nwith her, not by a change brought about in the body, but by a growth\nand advance in mind. Therein are shadowed forth the true grandeur and\ndignity of man. Not only has he achieved for himself a great victory\nin this rising by the power of mind superior to nature in a sense, but\nhe has also gained a directing influence over other existences, in\nthat he has been able to grasp from nature some of that power which,\nbefore his appearance, she universally exercised. From all that man has\naccomplished in the past, it is easy to anticipate the time when only\ncultivated plants and domestic animals will be produced by the earth,\nand when the ocean, which, for countless cycles of ages ruled supreme\nover the globe, will be the only domain in which that power can be\nexercised.\n\nThat man has improved under civilization there can be no question.\nStatistics show that, since the introduction of civilization, the\npopulation of the earth in general has increased. No one can fail\nto observe that under its influence the means of subsistence have\nincreased even more rapidly than the population. Far from suffering for\nlack of food, the most densely peopled countries are those in which it\nis, not only absolutely but even relatively most abundant. A thousand\nmen live to-day in plenty upon an area of ground that would scarcely\nafford a scanty and precarious subsistence to a single savage. There\nis no denying the fact that happiness is increased by civilization.\nTo talk of the free and noble savage is folly. The true savage is\nneither free nor noble. He is a slave to his own wants, his own\npassions. Imperfectly protected as he is from the weather, he suffers\nat night from the cold and by day from the heat of the sun. Ignorant of\nagriculture, living by the chase, and improvident in success, hunger\never stares him in the face, and often drives him to the dreadful\nalternative of cannibalism or death. The life of all beasts in their\nwild state is certainly an exceedingly anxious one. So it is with the\nsavage. He is always suspicious, always in danger, always on the watch.\nHe can depend on no one, and no one can depend upon him, for he expects\nnothing from his neighbor, and does unto others as he believes that\nthey would do unto him. His life is one prolonged scene of selfishness\nand fear. Even in his religion, if he has any, he creates for himself\na new source of terror, and peoples the world with invisible enemies.\nMore wretched is the position of the female savage than that of her\nmaster, for she not only shares his sufferings, but has also to bear\nhis ill-humor and ill-usage, being little better than his dog, little\ndearer than his horse. Few of them, it is believed, are so fortunate\nas to die a natural death, being despatched ere they become old and\nemaciated, that so much good food shall not be lost. Indeed, so\nlittle importance is attached to women, either before or after death,\nthat it may be doubted whether the man does not esteem his dog, when\nalive, quite as much as he does his woman, and think of both quite as\noften and as lovingly after he has made a meal of them. Not content,\nmoreover, with the pleasures incident to their mode of life, savages\nappear to take a melancholy delight in self-inflicted sufferings. They\nnot only tattoo their bodies, but practise the most extraordinary\nmethods of disfigurement and self-torture, some amputating the little\nfinger, while others drill immense holes in the under-lip, or pierce\nthe cartilage of the nose. These and many other curious practices, none\nthe less painful because they are voluntary, are in vogue among savage\npeople. Turning now to the bright side of the question, we cannot but\nconclude that the pleasures of civilized man are greater than those of\nthe savage. While man will never be able to improve the organization\nof the eye or the ear, yet, on the other hand, the invention of the\ntelescope and the microscope is equivalent in its results to an immense\nimprovement of the eyes, thus opening up to us new worlds, fresh\nsources of interest and happiness, while the training of the ear will\nenable us to invent new musical instruments and compose new melodies.\nThe savage, like a child, sees and hears only that which is brought\ndirectly before him, but the civilized man questions nature, and by\nthe various processes of chemistry, electricity and magnetism, and a\nthousand ingenious contrivances, forces nature to reveal herself,\nthereby discovering hidden uses and unsuspected beauties, quite as\nmarvellously as though he were endowed with some entirely new organ of\nsense. Through the discovery of printing, we are brought into communion\nwith the greatest minds, and thus the thoughts of a Shakespeare or a\nTennyson, or the discoveries of a Newton or a Darwin, become the common\nproperty of mankind. Already the results of this all-important, though\nsimple, process have vastly improved our mental faculties, and day by\nday, as books become cheaper, schools are established and education\nmore general, a greater and greater effect will be produced.\n\nNor are all these new sources of happiness accompanied by any new\nliability to suffering. On the contrary, while our pleasures are\nincreased, our pains are lessened. In a thousand ways we can avoid or\ndiminish evils which to our ancestors were great and unavoidable. No\none can estimate the misery which, for instance, the simple discovery\nof chloroform has spared the human race. The capacity for pain, so\nfar as it can serve as a warning, remains all the same, but the\nnecessity for endurance has been greatly diminished. With increased\nknowledge of the laws of health, and attention thereto, disease will\nbecome less and less frequent, and those tendencies to disease which\nwe have inherited from our ancestors will gradually die out, and, if\nfresh seeds are not sown, the race will one day enjoy the inestimable\nadvantages of a more vigorous and healthy existence. Thus, then, with\nthe increasing influence of science we may confidently look forward to\na great improvement in the condition of man. But it may be alleged that\nour present sufferings and sorrows arise chiefly from sin, and that\nany moral improvement must come from religion and not from science.\nThis separation of the two mighty agents of improvement, the great\nmisfortune of humanity, has done more than anything else to retard\nthe progress of civilization. But even if we admit for the nonce that\nscience will not render us more virtuous, it must certainly make us\nmore innocent, for in fact the most of our criminal population are\nmere savages, persons who can rarely read and write, and whose crimes\nare but injudicious and desperate attempts to live a savage life in\nthe midst, and at the expense, of a civilized community. Men do wrong\neither from ignorance or in the hope, unexpressed perhaps even to\nthemselves, that they may enjoy the pleasure and yet avoid the penalty\nof sin. All that they have to do they think, when they have committed\nsin, is to repent. The religious teaching of the day has much to do\nwith this misapprehension. Repentance is too frequently regarded as a\nsubstitute for punishment. Sin it is thought is followed either by the\none or the other. So far, therefore, as this world is concerned, this\nis not the case; repentance may enable a man to avoid sin in future,\nbut has no effect on the consequences of the past. The laws of nature\nare not only just and salutary, but they are also inexorable. While\nall men admit that \u201cthe wages of sin is death,\u201d yet they seem to think\nthat this is a general rule to which there may be many exceptions,\nthat some sins may possibly tend to happiness. That suffering is the\ninevitable consequence of sin, as surely as an effect follows a cause,\nis the stern yet salutary teaching of science. And certainly if this\nlesson were thoroughly impressed upon our minds, that punishment and\nnot happiness is the consequence of sin, then temptation, which is\nthe very root of crime, would be cut away, and mankind must therefore\nnecessarily become more innocent. May we not go still further and\nsay that science will also render us more virtuous? He who studies\nphilosophy can only obtain a just idea of the great things for which\nProvidence has fitted his understanding. Such a study not only makes\nour lives more agreeable, but it also makes them better, and every\nmotive of interest and duty should constrain a rational being to direct\nhis mind towards pursuits which all experience has shown to be the sure\npath of virtue and happiness.\n\nMan is in reality but on the threshold of civilization. Far from\nshowing any indication of having reached the end, the tendency to\nimprovement seems laterally to have proceeded with augmented impetus\nand accelerated rapidity. There is no reason to suppose that it must\nnow cease. Man has not attained the limits of intellectual development,\nnor exhausted the infinite capabilities of nature. There are many\nthings not yet dreamt of in our philosophy which science must reveal,\nmany discoveries yet to be made which will confer upon the human race\nadvantages which as yet, perhaps, we are not in a condition to grasp\nand appreciate. We seem, when we compare our present knowledge with\nthe great ocean of truth that lies all undiscovered before us, like\nlittle children playing on the sea-shore, and picking up a smoother\npebble and prettier shell than any they had met with before. Thus, it\nis obvious, that our most sanguine hopes for the future are justified\nby the entire experience of the past. It is surely unreasonable to\npresume that a process which has been going on for so many thousand\nyears should have now suddenly ceased; and he must indeed be blind\nwho thinks that our civilization is unsusceptible of improvement, or\nthat we ourselves are in the highest state possible for man to attain.\nTheory, as well as experience, forces the same conclusion upon us. That\nprinciple of Natural Selection, which in animals affects the body and\nseems to have little influence on the mind, in man affects the mind and\nhas little influence on the body. In the former it leads mainly to the\npreservation of life, and in the latter to the improvement of the mind,\nand consequently to the increase of happiness. It ensures, in the words\nof Spencer, \u201ca constant progress towards a higher skill, intelligence,\nand self-regulation--a better co\u00f6rdination of actions--a more complete\nlife.\u201d Nearly all the evils under which we suffer, it will be conceded,\nmay be attributed either to ignorance or sin. That ignorance will be\ndiminished by the progress of science is, of course, self-evident;\nand that the same will be the case with sin, seems little less so.\nThus, then, do both science and theory point to the same conclusion.\nThat which poets hardly dared to hope for, the future happiness of our\nrace, science boldly predicts. Even in our own time we trust to see\nsome wonderful improvement. But the unselfish mind, however, will find\nits highest gratification in the belief that, whatever may be the case\nwith ourselves, our descendants will understand many things which are\nmysterious to us now, will better appreciate the beautiful world in\nwhich we live, avoid much of the suffering to which we are subject,\nenjoy many blessings of which we are not yet worthy, and escape many of\nthose temptations which we deplore but cannot wholly resist.\n\nWe have thus seen that all life has been progressive. There has been\nthrough the ages a steadily growing upward tendency to higher life.\nBut the changes have mainly been in the line of physical form and\nstructure. And such, too, had been the case with man, until his social,\nintellectual and moral faculties had begun to assert themselves, when\nhis body ceased in a great measure to be acted upon by physical laws,\nand development began to manifest itself in a higher type of mental\norganization. From the low, simple, childlike mind of pal\u00e6olithic man\nhas come that wonderful intellect which now characterizes the Germanic\nraces, and which is destined to make itself felt in its contact\nwith all the earth. Those peoples that are able to embrace the new\ncivilization brought to their doors, so to speak, will survive, while\nthe others, unable to adapt themselves thereto, like the Tasmanian,\nwill succumb in the struggle with a superior being and go to the\nwall. Animals and plants will be brought into new relations and new\nconditions, and such as can meet the new requirements will, as certain\nspecies have done before, endure. They will, in other words, have\npartaken of an enlightened civilization. Thus things will go on until\nall life, vegetal and animal, will be brought under the controlling\nand elevating influence of man, and then will be inaugurated on earth\nthat condition when the lion and the kid shall lie down together, and\na little child shall be found in their midst. Nothing harmful will\nanywhere exist. Heaven will then have been brought down to earth, and\npeace and harmony will universally prevail. Then will have come the\ncomplete triumph of mind over body. All growth and development of the\nreformed and regenerated earth-man will be in the direction of mind,\nand his accomplishments will he share with the inferior subjects of his\npeaceful and happy domain. Progression, however, will not cease, but\nwill go on steadily advancing as the years increase. And if there is a\nlife beyond the earth-life, then the intellect or mind, or soul if you\nplease, shall, in some form or other, exist therein, and reach up into\nhigher and yet higher growth and development.\n\n\n\n\nSURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST.\n\n\nAmong organic beings in a state of nature there is some individual\nvariability. This is an admission about which there can be no dispute.\nBut the mere existence of individual variability and of a few\nwell-marked varieties, though necessary as the foundation for the work,\nassists us but little in understanding how species originate in nature.\nThose exquisite adaptations of one part of the organization to another\npart, and to the conditions of life, and of one organic being to\nanother being, which we know to exist, seem as mysteries. We see them\nin the humblest parasite that clings to the hairs of a quadruped or the\nfeathers of a bird, in the structure of the beetle that dives through\nthe water, and in the plumed seed that is wafted by the gentlest\nbreeze. In short, we see beautiful adaptations everywhere and in every\npart of the organic world. And yet, how few have paused while admiring\nthese beautiful and wonderful co-adaptations to ask themselves the\nquestion: How have these been perfected?\n\nIf the existence of any well-marked varieties be admitted, how is it\nthat these varieties, which may be denominated incipient species,\nbecome ultimately converted into good and distinct species, which\nin the generality of cases obviously differ from each in a greater\ndegree than do the varieties of the same species? How do these groups\nof species, which constitute what are authoritatively called genera,\nand which differ from each other more than do the species of the same\ngenus, arise? All these results, as will presently be seen, follow from\nthe Struggle for Existence. Owing to this struggle, all variations,\nno matter how slight they may be, or from what cause soever they may\nproceed, will, if they be in any degree profitable to the individuals\nof a species in their infinitely complex relations to other organic\nbeings and their physical conditions of life, unavoidably conduce to\nthe preservation of such individuals, and generally be inherited by\nthe offspring. The offspring, too, will thus have a better chance\nof surviving, for, of the many individuals of a species that are\nperiodically born, but a very small number can survive. That principle,\nby which each slight variation, if useful to the individual, is\npreserved, has been termed Natural Selection by Darwin, in order to\ndistinguish it from the selection which is exercised by man over the\nplants and animals which he has brought under subjection for his own\nwants. But the expression--Survival of the Fittest--so frequently used\nby Spencer, is more accurate, and sometimes equally convenient. Man can\ncertainly produce great results by this power, and can adapt, through\nthe accumulation of slight but useful variations given to him by the\nhand of nature, organic beings to his own uses. But Natural Selection,\nas is well known, is a power incessantly ready for action, and is as\ninfinitely superior to man\u2019s feeble efforts as the works of nature are\nto those of art.\n\nAll organic beings are exposed to severe competition. Nothing is\neasier than to admit in words the truth of the universal struggle\nfor life, or more difficult than constantly to bear this conclusion,\nwhich has been reached through the investigations and researches of De\nCandolle, Lyell, Herbert, Darwin and others, in mind. Unless, however,\nit be thoroughly ingrained in the mind, the whole economy of nature,\nwith every fact on distribution, rarity, abundance, extinction and\nvariation, will be but dimly perceived or quite misunderstood. We\nbehold the face of nature radiant with gladness, and food everywhere\nin excessive abundance, but we do not see that the birds which are\nhappily singing round us mostly live on insects or seeds, and are\nthus constantly destroying life, or we fail to remember how largely\nthese songsters, or their eggs, or their nestlings, are destroyed by\nbirds and beasts of prey. Yes, we do not always bear in mind that,\nthough food may now be superabundant, it is not so at all seasons of\neach recurring year. The term, Struggle for Existence, must be used in\na large and metaphorical sense. It must be construed to include the\ndependence of one being on another, and also not only the life of the\nindividual but also its success in leaving offspring. Two carnivores,\nin a time of scarcity of food, may be truly said to struggle with each\nother for maintenance of life. But a plant on the edge of a desert\nis said to struggle for life against the drought, though, properly\nspeaking, it is dependent for its existence upon the moisture. A plant,\nhowever, that annually produces many thousand seeds of which on an\naverage only one comes to maturity, may in a much truer sense be said\nto struggle with the plants of the same and other kinds which already\ninvest the ground. While the mistletoe is dependent on the apple and\nsome other trees, yet it cannot be said, unless in a far-fetched sense,\nto struggle with these trees, for, if too many of these parasites are\nfound upon the same tree, it will certainly languish and die. Several\nseedling mistletoes, however, growing close together upon the same\nbranch, may more truly be said to struggle with each other.\n\nFrom the high rate at which all organic beings tend to increase, there\nmust inevitably follow a Struggle for Existence. Every being which,\nduring its natural lifetime, produces several eggs or seeds, must\nnecessarily suffer destruction during some part of that period, and\nduring some season or occasional year, otherwise, on the principle\nof Geometrical Increase, its numbers would become so inordinately\nexcessive that no country would be able to support its product.\nTherefore, as more individuals are produced than can possibly\nsurvive, there must be in every case a Struggle for Existence, either\none individual struggling with another of the same kind, or with\nindividuals of distinct kinds or species, or with the conditions of\nthe environment. This is the doctrine of Malthus applied with manifold\nforce to the entire vegetable and animal kingdoms. Although some\nspecies may be now increasing at a very high rate in numbers, yet\nall cannot do so, for the earth would not be able to contain them.\nSlow-breeding man has doubled in twenty-five years, and should he go\non at this rate for a few thousand years, there would literally not\nbe standing room for his progeny. It has been calculated that, if an\nannual plant produced only two seeds, and their seedlings next year\nproduced two, and the same rate of increase was kept up for twenty\nyears, there would be a million of plants as the result. Even the\nelephant, which is reckoned the slowest breeder of all known animals,\nwould after a period of from seven hundred and forty to seven hundred\nand fifty years leave nearly nineteen million elephants as descendants\nfrom the first pair.\n\nMuch better evidence than mere theoretical calculations are not wanting\non this subject. Instances are recorded of the astonishingly rapid\nincrease of various animals in a state of nature, when conditions have\nbeen favorable to them, during two or three succeeding seasons. More\nstriking, however, is the evidence from domestic animals that have run\nwild in several parts of the world. Were not the statements of the\nrate of increase of cattle and horses in South America, and latterly\nin Australia, where millions now abound, well authenticated, they\nwould have been incredible. Cases could be mentioned of introduced\nplants that have become quite common throughout entire islands in a\nperiod of less than twelve years. Several of these plants, the cardoon\nand a rare thistle, which were introduced from Europe, clothe square\nleagues of the surface of the wide plains of the La Plata almost to the\nexclusion of all other plants; and there are plants which now range in\nIndia, from Cape Comorin to the Himalaya, which have been imported from\nAmerica since its discovery. In all such cases, and endless instances\ncould be adduced, no intelligent person supposes that their fertility\nhas been increased in any sensible degree by change of habitat, the\nobvious explanation being that the conditions of environment have been\nvery favorable, and that there has consequently been less destruction\nof old and young, and that nearly all the latter have been enabled\nto breed. The extraordinarily rapid increase and wide diffusion of\nnaturalized productions in new homes, a result which never fails\nto evoke surprise, is only to be explained on the principle of the\nGeometrical Ratio of Increase. As in nature almost every plant produces\nseed, and there are very few animals that do not annually pair,\ntherefore we can confidently assert that all plants and animals are\ntending to increase in a geometrical ratio; that all would most rapidly\nstock every station in which they could in any way exist, and that the\ntendency to increase must be checked by destruction at some period of\nlife. Among our larger domestic animals we see no great destruction\nfalling on them. We forget that thousands are annually slaughtered\nfor food, and that in a natural state an equal number would have to\nbe disposed of in some way or other. Between organisms which annually\nproduce seeds or eggs by the thousands, and those which produce\nextremely few, the only difference is that the slow breeders would\nrequire a few more years to people, under favorable conditions, a whole\ndistrict, let it be ever so large. But a couple of eggs are laid by the\ncondor, while the ostrich lays a score. Yet in the same country the\ncondor may be the more abundant of the two. The Fulmer petrel lays but\na single egg, yet it is believed to be the most numerous bird in the\nworld. A large number of eggs is of some importance to those species\nwhich depend upon a rapidly-fluctuating quantity of food, for it\npermits them to increase rapidly in number; but the real importance of\na large number of eggs or seeds is to make up for the great destruction\nthat goes on at some period of life, and this period in the vast\nmajority of cases is an early one. If an animal can in any way protect\nits own eggs or young, a small number may be produced, and the average\nstock be kept up; but if many eggs or young are destroyed, then many\nmust be produced or the species will become extinct. Therefore, the\naverage number of any animal or plant depends, though only indirectly,\nupon the number of its eggs or seeds. We should never forget, in taking\na survey of nature, that every single organic being around us may be\nsaid to be striving to the utmost to augment its members; that each\nlives by a struggle at some period of its existence, and that heavy\ndestruction falls either on the young or old during each generation or\nat recurrent intervals. Let any check be lightened, or the destruction\nbe mitigated ever so little, and the number of the species will almost\ninstantaneously increase to any extent.\n\nBut of the nature of the checks to increase we know little, although\nthis subject has been very ably treated by writers of eminence. Eggs\nor very young animals seem generally to suffer the most, but this is\nnot invariably the case. While there is a vast destruction of the\nseeds of plants, but it is the seedlings which are believed to suffer\nthe greatest, from germinating in ground already thickly stocked with\nother plants, and from being destroyed in large numbers by various\nenemies. The amount of food for each species of course determines the\nextreme limit to which each can increase, but very often it is not\nthe obtaining of food, but the serving as prey to other animals which\nfixes the average number of a species. Thus there seems to be little\ndoubt that the stock of partridges, grouse and hares on any large\nestate depends mainly on the destruction of vermin. Were not a single\nhead of game shot during the next twenty years in England, says Darwin\nin substance, and no vermin were at the same time destroyed, there\nwould in all probability be less game than at present exists, although\nhundreds of thousands of game animals are now annually killed for\nthe market. In some cases, on the other hand, as in the case of the\nelephant, none are destroyed by beasts of prey, for even the tiger\nin India, bold and venturesome as he is known to be, rarely dares to\nattack a young elephant protected by its mother. Climate, also, plays\nan important part in determining the average number of a species, and\nperiodical seasons of extreme cold or drought are seemingly the most\neffective checks of all. The action of climate appears at first sight\nto be altogether independent of the Struggle for Existence; but in\nso far as it chiefly acts in the reduction of food, it brings on the\nmost severe struggle between the individuals, whether of the same or\ndifferent species, which subsist on the same kind of fare. Even when\nclimate, extreme cold for example, acts directly, it will be the least\nvigorous animals, or those which have been the poorest fed through\nthe advancing winter, that will suffer the greatest. This will be\nmost readily seen from what we shall now relate. When we travel from\nsouth to north, or from a damp region to a dry, we invariably see some\nspecies getting rarer and rarer by degrees, and finally disappearing.\nChange of climate being conspicuous, we are inclined to ascribe the\nentire effect to its direct action, but this is a false interpretation\nof the phenomenon, for we fail to remember that each species, even\nwhere it most prevails, is constantly suffering enormous destruction\nat some period of its existence, from enemies or competitors for the\nsame station and food; and if these enemies or competitors be the\nleast favored by any slight change of climate, they will necessarily\nincrease in numbers, while the other species, each area being already\nstocked with inhabitants, will correspondingly decrease. And when we\ntravel southward and see a species decreasing in numbers, we may feel\nreasonably sure that the cause lies quite as much in other species\nbeing favored as in this being hurt. So it is when we travel northward,\nthough in a less degree. When we go northward, or when we ascend a\nmountain, we far oftener meet with stunted forms, due to the directly\ninjurious action of climate, than we do when we go southward or descend\na mountain. When, however, we reach the Arctic regions, or explore\nsnow-capped summits, or absolute deserts, we perceive the struggle for\nlife to be almost exclusively with the elements.\n\nThat climate operates mainly, but indirectly, in favoring other\nspecies, may be clearly seen in the prodigious numbers of garden plants\nthat can thoroughly well endure our climate, but which can never become\nnaturalized, inasmuch as they cannot compete with native vegetation nor\nresist destruction by native animals.\n\nWhen a species, owing to highly favorable conditions, increases\ninordinately in numbers in a small tract of country, epidemics,\nespecially in game animals, often occur, and here we have a limiting\ncheck independent of the Struggle for Existence. But some of these\nso-called epidemics appear to be due to parasitic worms, which have\nfrom some cause, possibly in part through ease of diffusion among the\ncrowded animals, been disproportionately favored, and here comes in a\nsort of struggle between the parasite and its more illustrious prey.\n\nBut, on the other hand, as is frequently the case, a large stock of\nindividuals of the same species, relatively to the number of its\nenemies, is absolutely essential to its preservation. We thus see\nhow it is possible to raise with ease a plentiful supply of corn in\nour fields, because the seeds are greatly in excess of the number\nof birds which feed thereon. Nor can the birds, though blessed with\na superabundance of food at this one season, increase in number in\nproportion to the supply of seed, as their numbers are checked during\nthe winter. Any one, however, who has made the experiment, knows how\ntroublesome it is to get seed from a few wheat or other such plants\nsown broad-cast in a garden. Some singular facts in nature, such as\nthat of very rare plants being sometimes extremely abundant in the few\nspots where they do occur, and that of some social plants being social,\nor abounding in individuals, even on the extreme confines of their\nrange, are readily explainable by this view of the necessity of a\nlarge stock of the same species for its preservation, for in such cases\nwe may believe that a plant could only exist where the conditions of\nits life were so favorable that many could exist together and thus save\nthe species from extinction.\n\nComplex and varied are the checks and relations between organic beings\nwhich have to struggle together in the same country. In the case\nof every species, many different checks, some very complicated and\nunintelligible to man at present, acting at different periods of life,\nand during different seasons or years, come into play, some one check\nor some few being generally the most powerful, but all concurring in\ndetermining the average number or even the existence of the species.\nWidely-different checks sometimes act on the same species in different\ndistricts. Looking at the plants and bushes that clothe an entangled\nbank, we are tempted to ascribe their proportional numbers and kinds\nto what we call chance. But this is a very false view to take of the\nmatter. Chance has no part in such things. They follow in obedience to\nlaws of which we know comparatively little. When an American forest\nis cut down a very different vegetation springs up. Ancient Indian\nruins have been observed in the southern parts of the United States,\nwhich must in former times have been cleared of trees, but which now\ndisplay the same beautiful diversity and proportion of kinds as are\nnow found in the surrounding virgin forest. What a struggle must have\ngone on during long centuries between the several kinds of trees, each\nannually scattering its seeds by the thousand, and what a war between\ninsect and insect, and between insects, snails and other animals with\nbirds and beasts of prey, all striving to increase, all feeding on each\nother, or on the trees, their seeds and their seedlings, or on the\nother plants which once clothed the soil, and thus checked the growth\nof the trees! It is easier to account for the fall of an apple from a\ntree, or the descent of a stone to the earth when hurled into the air,\nthan to account for the action and reaction of the innumerable plants\nand animals that have determined in the course of untold centuries the\nproportional numbers and kinds of trees that are now found growing on\nthese old Indian ruins. But the struggle will almost invariably be the\nseverest between individuals of the same species, for they frequent\nthe same districts, require the same food and are exposed to the same\ndangers. In the case of varieties of the same species, the struggle\nwill generally be almost equally severe. If several varieties of wheat\nbe sown together, and the mixed seed be re-sown, some of the varieties\nwhich best suit the soil or climate, or are naturally the most fertile,\nwill beat the others and so yield more seed, and will consequently\nin a few years supplant the others. Such extremely-close varieties\nas the variously-colored sweet-peas must be separately harvested\neach year, and the seed mixed in due proportion, or the weaker kinds\nwill steadily decrease in number and disappear. So, again, with the\nvarieties of sheep. Certain mountain-varieties will starve out other\nmountain-varieties, so that they cannot be kept together. Similar\nresults have followed from keeping together different varieties of the\nmedicinal leech. In view of all that has been said, it is questionable\nwhether the varieties of any of our domestic plants and animals have\nso exactly the same vigor, constitution and habits that the original\nproportions of a mixed stock could be kept up for a half-dozen\ngenerations if they were permitted to struggle together like beings in\na state of nature, if the seed or young were not annually assorted.\n\nSpecies of the same genus having usually, though not invariably, much\nsimilarity in habits and constitution, and always in structure, the\nstruggle will be more severe between species of the same genus, where\nthey come into competition with each other, than between species of\ndistinct genera. One species of swallow has caused in certain parts\nof the United States the decrease of another species, just as the\nmissel-thrush in parts of Scotland has caused the decrease of the\nsong-thrush. The small Asiatic cockroach has everywhere in Russia\ndriven before it its great congener, and the imported European\nhive-bee is rapidly exterminating in Australia the small, stingless\nbee, indigenous to the country. Hundreds of such cases might be cited,\nbut we forbear. We can clearly see why the competition should be most\nsevere between allied forms, which fill nearly the same place in the\neconomy of nature; but it is perhaps not possible to individualize a\ncase and say with preciseness why such species has been victorious over\nanother in the battle of life. That the structure of every organic\nbeing is related, in the most essential yet often hidden manner to\nthat of all the other organisms with which it comes into competition\nfor food or residence, or from which it has to escape, or on which\nit preys, is a corollary of the highest importance deducible from\nthe foregoing remarks. Very obvious is this in the structure of the\nteeth and talons of the tiger, and in that of the legs and claws\nof the parasite which clings to the hair on the tiger\u2019s body. But\nin the beautifully-plumed seed of the dandelion and the flattened\nand fringed legs of the water-beetle the relation seems at first\nrestricted to the elements of air and water, yet the advantage of\nplumed seeds undoubtedly stands in the most intimate relation to the\nland, being already densely clothed with other plants, so that the\nseeds may be widely diffused and fall on unoccupied ground, while in\nthe water-beetle, the structure of its legs, so admirably adapted for\ndiving, allows it to compete with other aquatic insects, to hunt for\nits own prey and to escape destruction by other predaceous animals. All\norganic beings, it will thus be seen, are not only striving to increase\nin numbers, but are called upon some time in their lives to struggle\nfor existence or to suffer serious if not utter destruction. When we\nreflect on this struggle, we can console ourselves with the full belief\nthat this war of nature is not incessant, that no fear is felt, that\ndeath is generally sudden, and that the vigorous, healthy and happy\nsurvive and multiply.\n\nSeeing what a potent influence the principle of Selection has in the\nhands of man, in regard to variation, can it be applied in nature?\nWe can see that it can act most effectually. But in our domestic\nproductions the variability is not directly produced by man, for he\ncan neither originate varieties nor prevent their occurrence. All he\ncan do is to preserve and accumulate such as do occur. Unintentionally\nhe exposes organic beings to new and changing conditions of life, for\nunder domestication, plant and animal organizations become in some\ndegree plastic, and variability ensues. Similar changes, however,\ndo occur in nature. When it is borne in mind how infinitely complex\nand close-fitting are the mutual relations of all organic beings\nto each other, and to their environment, and consequently what\ninfinitely-varied diversities of structure may be of advantage to each\nbeing under altered conditions, can it then be thought improbable,\nseeing that variations useful to man have undoubtedly occurred, that\nother variations useful in some way to each being in the great and\ncomplex battle of life should sometimes occur in the course of tens\nof thousands of generations? If such do occur, can we doubt, when it\nis remembered that many more individuals are born than can possibly\nsurvive, that individuals possessing any advantage, no matter how\nslight, over their fellows would have the best chance of surviving and\nof procreating their kind? Any variation, on the other hand, we may\nfeel sure if in the least degree injurious would be rigidly destroyed.\nThis preservation of useful and favorable variations, and the\ndestruction of those that are injurious, is called Natural Selection,\nor the Survival of the Fittest. Variations neither advantageous nor\ndeleterious would not be affected by Natural Selection, and would be\nleft either a fluctuating element, as seen in certain polymorphic\nspecies, or would alternately become fixed, owing to the nature both of\nthe organism and its conditions.\n\nWe shall best understand the probable cause of Natural Selection by\ntaking a country undergoing some physical change, as of climate for\nexample. The proportional number of its inhabitants would almost\nimmediately undergo a change, and some of its species might become\nextinct. From the complex and very intimate manner in which the\ninhabitants of each country are bound together, we may conclude that\nany change in the numerical proportion of some of its inhabitants,\nindependently of the change of climate itself, would seriously affect\nthe others. Were the country open on its borders, new forms would\ncertainly immigrate, and this, too, would often seriously disturb the\nrelations of some of its former inhabitants. In the case, however,\nof an island, or a country hemmed in by barriers, into which new and\nbetter-adapted forms could not readily enter, we would then meet with\nplaces in the economy of nature which would assuredly be better filled\nup, if some of the original occupants were in some manner modified, for\nhad the area been open to immigration, these same places would have\nbeen seized by intruders. Thus, slight modifications, which any way\nfavored the individuals of a species, would by better adapting them\nto changed conditions tend to become preserved, and Natural Selection\nwould there have free scope for the work of improvement. Changes in\nthe conditions of life cause or excite a tendency to vary. In the\nforegoing case the conditions are supposed to have changed, and this\nwould manifestly be favorable, by giving a better chance of profitable\nvariations occurring, to Natural Selection, for unless such do occur,\nNatural Selection can do nothing. As man, by adding up in any given\ndirection individual differences, can certainly produce a great result\nwith his domestic animals and plants, so could Natural Selection,\nbut far more easily from having an incomparably longer time for its\naction. No great physical change, as of climate, nor any unusual degree\nof isolation to check immigration, is actually necessary, it would\nseem, to produce new and unoccupied places for Natural Selection to\nfill up by modifying and improving some of the varying inhabitants,\nfor as all the inhabitants of a country are struggling together\nwith nicely-balanced forces, extremely-slight modifications in the\nstructure or habits of one species would often give it an advantage\nover others; and still further modifications, so long as the species\ncontinued under the same conditions of life and profited by similar\nmeans of subsistence and defence, would often still further augment the\nadvantage. No country can be mentioned whose native inhabitants are now\nso perfectly adapted to each other and to their environment that none\ncould be better adapted and improved, for in all countries the natives\nhave been so far conquered by naturalized productions as to have\nallowed them to take firm possession of the land. And as foreigners\nhave thus in every country beaten some of the natives, it may be safely\nconcluded that the latter might have been modified with profit so as to\nhave better resisted the intruders.\n\nA man by his methodical and unconscious means of selection can produce\nand has produced great results. What may not Natural Selection effect?\nMan can only operate on external and visible characters, but nature\ncares nothing for appearances, except in so far as they are beneficial\nto any being. She can act on every internal organ, on every shade of\nconstitutional difference and, in fine, on the entire machinery of\nlife. Man selects exclusively for his own advantage, but nature solely\nfor that of the being she tends, and under her judicious selection\nthe slightest difference of structure or constitution may well turn\nthe nicely-balanced scale in the Struggle for Existence, and thus\nbe preserved. As fleeting as are the wishes and efforts of man, and\nas short as is his earthly career, so poor, therefore, must be the\nresults which he accomplishes when compared with those accumulated by\nnature during whole geological periods. Is it a wonder, then, that her\nproductions should be far _truer_ in character than man\u2019s, and that\nthey should be infinitely better adapted to the most complex conditions\nof life and should bear the stamp of far higher workmanship?\nMetaphorically speaking, Natural Selection may be said to be daily and\nhourly scrutinizing, throughout the world, the slightest variations,\nrejecting the bad, preserving and adding up the good, and silently\nand insensibly working, whenever and wherever opportunities occur, at\nthe betterment of each organic being in relation to its organic and\ninorganic conditions of life. So slow is her work that we see nothing\nof the changes in progress, and only when the hand of time has marked\nthe lapse of ages do we perceive that changes have been produced; but\nthen so imperfect is our view into long-past geological periods, that\nwe see only that the forms of life are now different from what they\nformerly were. That any great amount of modification in any point\nshould be effected, a variety once formed must again, perhaps after\na long interval of time, present individual differences of the same\nfavorable character, and these must again be preserved, and so onward\nstep by step. As individual differences of all kinds perpetually\nrecur, this can hardly be considered as an unwarrantable assumption.\nJudged by the extent the hypothesis accords with and explains the\ngeneral phenomena of nature, notwithstanding the ordinary belief that\nthe amount of possible variation is a strictly-limited quantity, we\nare justified, it seems to us, in assuming that all this has actually\ntaken place. But in looking at many small points of difference between\nspecies, which in our ignorance seem quite unimportant, we must not\nlose sight of the facts that climate, food and modes of life may have\nproduced some direct effect, and also of the truth that, owing to\nthe Law of Correlation, when one part varies, and the variations are\naccumulated through the Survival of the Fittest, other modifications\noften of the most unlooked-for nature will ensue.\n\nAs under domestication these variations are known to appear at a\nparticular period of life, and tend to reappear in the offspring at the\nsame period, so, in a state of nature, it is reasonable to infer that\nNatural Selection will be enabled to act on and modify organic beings\nat any age, by the accumulation of variations useful at that age, and\nby their inheritance at a corresponding age. Thus, if it be profitable\nto a plant to have its seeds more and more widely disseminated by the\nwind, there can be no greater difficulty in conceiving this to be\neffected through Natural Selection than in conceiving the increasing\nand improving of the down in the pods on his cotton-trees by a wise\nselection upon the part of a cotton-planter. Natural Selection may\nmodify and adapt the larva of an insect to a score of contingencies,\nwholly different from those which affect the mature insect, and these\nmodifications through Correlation may work changes in the structure of\nthe adult. On the other hand, modifications of the adult may affect the\nstructure of the larva, but in all such cases Natural Selection will\ninsure that these changes shall not be injurious, for, if they were so,\nthe extinction of the species would be the inevitable result. Thousands\nof instances might be given to show the influence which Natural\nSelection, or Sexual Selection, which is only a less vigorous phase\nof the former, has had all through the ages in the adaptation of life\nto the places in nature which it was intended to occupy in pursuance\nof the plan formulated by the Great Originator and Designer of the\nUniverse.\n\nDespite the imperfection of the geological record, which has been urged\nas a serious objection to the theory of descent with modification,\nsensible, intelligent, educated men no longer doubt that species have\nall changed, and that they have changed in the way required, for they\nhave changed slowly and in a graduated manner. This is clearly seen in\nthe fossil remains from consecutive formations being invariably much\nmore closely allied to each other than are those from widely-separated\nformations. It is true geological research does not yield those\ninfinitely fine gradations between past and present species which the\ntheory of Natural Selection requires, but when it is remembered that\nonly a small portion of the world has been geologically explored; that\nonly organic beings of certain classes, at least in any great number,\ncan be preserved in a fossil condition; that many species when once\nformed never undergo any further change, but become extinct without\nleaving any modified descendants; that dominant and widely-ranging\nspecies vary the most and the most frequently, and that varieties\nare often at first only local, it is not at all surprising that the\ndiscovery of intermediate links to any considerable extent should not\nhave been made. Local varieties, as is well known, will not diffuse\nthemselves into other and distant localities until they have become\nvery much modified and improved, and when they have thus diffused\nthemselves, and are discovered in a geological formation, they will\nappear as if suddenly created there, and will simply be ranked as new\nspecies. Besides, formations have often been intermittent in their\naccumulation, and their duration has probably been shorter than the\naverage duration of specific forms. And as successive formations in\nmost cases are separated from each other by blank intervals of time\nof considerable length, and as fossiliferous formations thick enough\nto withstand future degradation can as a general rule be accumulated\nonly where much sediment is laid down in the subsiding bed of the\nocean, it follows that during the alternate periods of elevation and\nof stationary level the record will generally be blank or devoid of\nfossil remains. During these latter periods there will doubtless be\nmore variability in the forms of life, and during the periods of\nsubsidence a greater amount of extinction. Now, as geology plainly\ndeclares that each land has undergone great physical changes, we have\na right to expect that organic beings have varied under nature in the\nsame manner as they have varied under domestication, and such have\nscientific study and research found to be the case. And if there has\nbeen any variability under nature, such a fact would seem unaccountable\nunless Natural Selection, or the Survival of the Fittest, did not come\ninto play. Upon the view that variations have occurred in nature and\nhave been preserved and accumulated by Natural Selection, and not in\nthe ordinary view of independent creation, we can understand why the\nspecific characters, or those by which the species of the same genus\ndiffer from each other, should be more variable than the generic\ncharacters in which they all agree. Inexplicable as is the occasional\nappearance of stripes on the shoulders and legs of the different\nequine species and their hybrids on the theory of creation, yet how\nsimply is the fact explained if we believe that they are all descended\nfrom a striped progenitor just as the different domestic breeds of\npigeons are descended from the blue and barred rock-pigeons. Why, for\nexample, should the color of a flower be more likely to vary in any\none species of a genus, if the other species, supposed to have been\ncreated independently, have differently-colored flowers, than if all\nthe species of the genus have the same colored flowers? On the theory\nthat species are only well-marked varieties, of which the characters\nhave become in a high degree permanent, the fact is intelligible, for\nthey have already varied in certain characters since they branched off\nfrom a common progenitor, and by these characters they have come to be\nspecifically distinct from each other. Therefore, these same characters\nwould be more likely again to vary than the generic characters which\nhave been inherited without change for an enormous period of time.\n\nUpon the theory of Natural Selection, or the Survival of the Fittest,\nwith its contingencies of extinction and divergence of character,\nwe can see how it is that all past and present organic beings can\nbe arranged within a few classes, in groups subordinate to groups,\nand with the extinct groups often falling in between the recent\ngroups. We can see how it is that the mutual affinities of the forms\nwithin each class are so complex and diversified, and only adaptive\ncharacters, though of superior importance to the beings, are of\nscarcely any significance in classification, while those derived from\nrudimentary parts, though of no recognized service, are often of high\nclassificatory value, and only embryological characters are frequently\nthe most valuable of all. The real affinities of all organisms, in\ncontradistinction to their adaptive likenesses, are due to inheritance\nor community of descent. Hence, a natural system of classification is\na genealogical arrangement, with the acquired grades of difference,\ndenoted by varieties, species, genera, families, etc., and their lines\nof descent have to be discovered by the most permanent characters,\nwhatever they may be and how little of vital importance they may\npossess.\n\nThat species are immutable productions, which was until quite recently\nthe current belief by laymen and naturalists, was almost unavoidable\nso long as the world was considered to be of short duration. But now\nthat some idea has been acquired of the time that has elapsed since\nthe beginning of earth-life, we are too apt to assume, without proof,\nthat the geologic record is so complete, that it would have afforded us\nsome plain evidence of the mutation of species, if they had undergone\nmutation. But the principal cause of our unwillingness to admit that\none species has given birth to other and distinct species, is that\nwe are always slow in admitting any great change of which we do not\ndiscern the intermediate steps. Just such a difficulty was felt by\nmany geologists when Lyell first insisted that long lines of inland\ncliffs had been produced, and great valleys excavated, by the agencies\nwhich are still at work in the earth. No effort of mind can adequately\ngrasp the meaning of even ten million of years, nor add up and perceive\nthe full effects of the many slight variations to which species have\nbeen subjected during an almost infinite number of generations. The\nday, however, is not distant, when mankind will have become just as\nthoroughly convinced that species have been modified during a long\ncourse of descent, mainly through the Natural Selection of innumerous\nsuccessive, slight and favorable variations as they are that the\nattraction of gravitation is an important element in the maintenance of\nthe harmony that exists among the planetary spheres. That the law of\nthe attraction of gravity, which is perhaps the greatest discovery ever\nmade by man, is subversive of natural and revealed religion, which was\nat one time maintained by a no more distinguished person than Leibnitz,\nis now no longer objected to, even though its discoverer was unable\nto explain what is the essence of the principle he had discovered.\nNo nobler conception of Deity could be entertained than that which\nattributes to Him the creation of a few original forms capable of\nself-development into other and needful forms, or the origination _de\nnovo_ of these simple forms from inorganic nature. It places a higher\nestimate upon His Omnipotence than the belief that He required a fresh\nact of creation to supply the voids caused by the action of His laws.\nThat science is as yet unable to throw any light on the far higher\nproblem of the essence or origin of life, should constitute no valid\nobjection to the theory of descent.\n\nWhen all beings are looked upon not as special creations, but as the\nlineal descendants of some beings that existed long before the first\nbed of ancient Siluria was deposited, they seem to become ennobled.\nJudging from the past, we think it safe to conclude that no existing\nspecies will transmit its unaltered likeness to a distant futurity.\nFew, very few living species will transmit progeny of any kind, for the\nmanner in which all organisms are grouped shows that the majority of\nspecies in each genus, and all the species in many genera, have left\nno descendants, but have become utterly extinct. It will only be the\ncommon and widely-spread species, belonging to the larger and dominant\ngroups within each class, that will ultimately prevail and procreate\nnew and dominant species. Since all the living forms of life are the\nlineal descendants of forms that lived long anterior to the Silurian\nepoch, it is reasonably certain that the ordinary succession by\ngeneration has never once been broken, and that no cataclysmic disaster\nhas laid waste the entire world. Therefore, we may look into the future\nwith some confidence of an equally secure and inappreciably enduring\nearth-life. And as Natural Selection operates solely by and for the\ngood of each being, all corporeal and mental endowments will tend to\nprogress toward perfection.\n\nWhen we contemplate a tangled bank, with innumerable plants of diverse\nkinds, and many-voiced birds singing in concert, or waging destruction\non manifold insects that are flitting about, or the long, slimy\nworm that has come up from its underground retreat, we are lost in\nwonder and admiration, and can only reflect that these elaborately\nconstructed forms, so different from each other, and so strangely and\nintricately dependent on each other, have all been evolved by laws that\nact all around us. These are the laws of Growth with Reproduction;\nInheritance, which is almost implied by reproduction; Variability from\nthe action, direct and indirect, of the conditions of life, and from\nuse and disuse; a Ratio of Increase so high as to lead to a Struggle\nfor Existence, and as a consequence to Natural Selection, or Survival\nof the Fittest, entailing thereby Divergence of Character and the\nExtinction of less-improved forms. And thus, from the war of nature,\nand from famine and death, have arisen the higher mammalia, in which\nman, the _summa summarum_ of life, is included. He occupies the summit,\ntoward which the efforts of millions of buried ages seem to have been\ntending. There is a grandeur in this view of life, with its several\npowers, originally breathed, by the operation of the natural laws, into\none or a few forms of life, and that, while the earth, in obedience to\nthe fixed principle of gravitation, has gone cycling on, endless forms,\nmost beautiful and most wonderful, have been, and are being, evolved\nfrom so simple a beginning.\n\n[Illustration: PAL\u00c6OLITHIC MEN ATTACKING CAVE BEAR.\n\nMammoth, Woolly Rhinoceros, Musk-Sheep and Irish Stag in Background.]\n\nWhile thus it has been shown that life has been progressive, successive\nforms of life being the result of modification through descent, those\nfaring the best in the Struggle for Existence surviving, by reason of\nsome advantage, physical or otherwise, gained over their competitors,\nyet little, bearing specially upon man, has been expressed in this\nchapter. After he had acquired those intellectual and moral faculties\nwhich largely distinguish him from the lower animals in a state of\nnature, he would have been but little liable to have his bodily\nstructure modified through Natural Selection or any other means,\nfor man is enabled, through his mental faculties, \u201cto keep with an\nunchanged body in harmony with the changing universe.\u201d He has a most\nwonderful power of adapting his habits to altered conditions of\nlife. Tools, weapons and various devices are invented by him for the\nprocurement of food and bodily defence. And when he migrates into a\ncolder climate, he uses clothes, builds sheds and makes fire, and by\nits aid cooks food that would otherwise be indigestible. The lower\nanimals, however, must have their bodily structure modified in order\nto survive under greatly changed conditions. They must be rendered\nstronger, or acquire more effective teeth or claws, or both, if they\nwould successfully defend themselves from new enemies, or they must be\nreduced in proportions, so as to escape detection and danger. When they\nremove into colder climates they must become clothed in thicker fur,\nor have their constitutions altered, for failure to be thus modified\nmust ultimately result in their ceasing to exist. But in the case of\nman\u2019s intellectual and moral faculties, as has been shown by Wallace,\nit is widely different. These faculties are quite variable, and\nthere is reason to believe that the variations tend to be inherited.\nTherefore, if they were formerly of high importance to pal\u00e6olithic\nman and his ape-like progenitors, they would have been perfected or\nadvanced through Natural Selection. But of the high importance of the\nintellectual faculties there can be no question, for man owes to them\nin a great measure his pre\u00ebminent position in the world. It can be seen\nthat, in the rudest state of society, the individuals who were the most\nsagacious, and who were the most skilful in the invention of weapons\nor traps, and who were the best able to defend themselves, would rear\nthe greatest number of offspring, and that the tribes which included\nthe largest number of men possessed of such superior endowments would\nincrease in number and eventually supplant the other tribes. Numbers\ndepend primarily on the means of subsistence, and this on the physical\nnature of the country, but in a much higher degree upon the arts\ntherein practised. As a tribe increases and is victorious, it is often\nstill further increased by the absorption of other tribes, and after\na time the tribes which are thus absorbed into another tribe assume,\nas has been remarked by Mr. Maine in his \u201cAncient Law,\u201d that they are\nthe co-descendants of the same ancestors. Stature and strength in the\nmen of a tribe are also of importance in its success, and these are\ndependent in part upon the character and the quantity of food that can\nbe obtained. Men of the Bronze Period in Europe were supplanted by a\nlarger-handed and more powerful race, but their success was probably\ndue in a much higher degree to their superiority in the arts. All that\nis known by savages, as inferred from their traditions and from old\nmonuments, shows that from the most remote times successful tribes\nhave supplanted others. Relics of extinct tribes have been found on\nthe wild plains of America and on the isolated islands in the Pacific\nOcean. Civilized nations are everywhere at the present time supplanting\nbarbarous peoples, excepting where climate opposes a fatal barrier, and\nthey thus succeed in a great measure, though not exclusively, through\nthe arts, which are the products of the intellect. With mankind,\nthen, it is highly probable that the intellectual faculties have been\ngradually perfected through Natural Selection. Undoubtedly it would\nhave been interesting to have traced the development of each separate\nfaculty from the state in which it exists in the lower animals to\nthat in which it exists in man, but this would have been a task of\nno easy accomplishment. As soon, however, as the progenitors of man\nbecame social, and this probably occurred at a very early period,\nthe advancement of the intellectual faculties would have been aided\nand modified in an important manner, for if one man in a tribe, more\nsagacious than his fellows, had invented a new snare or a weapon, or\nother means of attack or defence, the plainest self-interest, with no\ngreat help of reasoning power, would have prompted the other members\nto have imitated him, and thus all would have been profited. Habitual\npractice of each new art must likewise in some slight degree strengthen\nthe intellect. If the new invention were an important one, the tribe\nwould increase in numbers, spread and supplant other tribes, and thus\nrendered stronger numerically there would be a better chance of the\nbirth of other superior and inventive members. Should these last be so\nfortunate as to leave children to inherit their mental superiority, the\nchance of the birth of still more ingenious members would be somewhat\nbetter, and in a very small tribe would be decidedly better.\n\nThat primeval man, or his ape-like progenitors, should have become\nsocial, they must have acquired the same instinctive feelings which\nimpel other animals to live in a body, and they doubtless exhibited\nthe same general disposition. When separated from their companions,\nfor whom they would have felt some degree of love, they would have\nexperienced a feeling of uneasiness. They would have warned each\nother of danger, and have given mutual aid in attack or defence. All\nthis implies some degree of sympathy, fidelity and courage. Such\nsocial qualities, whose paramount importance to the lower animals is\nundisputed, were doubtless acquired by the progenitors of men in a\nsimilar manner, namely, through Natural Selection, aided by inherited\nhabit. In the never-ceasing wars of savages, fidelity and courage are\nall-important, and certainly when two tribes of primeval man, living\nin the same country, came into competition, the one that contained\nthe greatest number of courageous, sympathetic and faithful members,\nwho were ever ready to warn each other of danger, and to assist and\ndefend each other, would without doubt succeed the best and conquer the\nother. The advantage which disciplined soldiers have over undisciplined\nhordes follows mainly from the confidence which each soldier has in\nhis comrades. Obedience is of the highest importance, for any form of\ngovernment is better than none. Selfish and contentious people will not\ncohere, and without coherence nothing can be effected. Thus, a tribe\npossessing these qualities in an eminent degree would spread and be\nvictorious over other tribes. But, in the course of events, or all past\nhistory is a myth, this successful tribe would in its turn be overcome\nby some other more highly-endowed tribe; and thus would the social and\nmoral qualities tend slowly to advance and be diffused throughout the\nworld.\n\nPraise and the blame of our fellow-men are much more powerful stimuli\nto the development of the social qualities. These virtues are primarily\ndue to the instinct of sympathy, and this instinct, like all other\nsocial instincts, was doubtlessly acquired through Natural Selection.\nHow early man\u2019s progenitors, in the course of their development, became\ncapable of feeling and being impelled by the praise or blame of their\nfellow-men, we are unable to say. Even dogs appreciate encouragement,\npraise and blame, and it would be strange if such could not be\npredicated of beings higher in the scale. The wildest savages feel the\nsentiment of glory. This is clearly shown by their preservation of\nthe trophies of their bravery, by their habit of excessive boasting,\nand even by the extreme care they take of their personal appearance\nand adornments. Unless, however, they regarded the opinion of their\ncomrades, such habits would be without meaning and senseless. How far\nthe savage experiences remorse, is doubtful. He certainly feels shame\nand contrition for the breach of some of the lesser rules of his tribe.\nIt is true that remorse is a deeply-hidden feeling, but it is hardly\ncredible that a being who will sacrifice his life rather than betray\nhis tribe, or give himself up as a prisoner rather than violate his\nparole, would not feel remorse, though he might, if he failed in a duty\nwhich he held sacred, hide it from view.\n\nPrimeval man must have been, at a very remote time, influenced by\nthe praise and blame of his fellows. That the members of the same\ntribe would approve of conduct that appeared for the general good,\nand reprobate such as seemed to carry with it evil, there can be no\nquestion. To do good unto others, or to do unto others as you would\nthat they should do unto you, is the foundation-stone of morality.\nIt is, therefore, hardly possible to place too high an estimate upon\nthe importance of the love of praise and fear of blame during rude,\nbarbaric times, for a man, who was not impelled by any profound\ninstinctive feeling to sacrifice his life for the good of others, but\nwho was raised to such a noble action by a sense of glory, would by his\nexample excite a similar wish for glory in the bosoms of other men,\nand would thereby engender and strengthen by exercise the laudable\nfeeling of admiration. With increased experience and reason, those\nmore remote consequences of his actions, such as temperance, chastity,\netc., which during his very early times were utterly disregarded, would\ncome to be highly esteemed or even held sacred. And ultimately there\nwould have been developed from the social instincts a highly-complex\nsentiment which, largely guided by the approbation of his fellow-men,\nand ruled by reason, self-interest, and latterly by deep religious\nfeelings, confirmed by teaching and habit, would constitute his moral\nsense or conscience. Although a high standard of morality gives but\nlittle if any advantage to each individual man and his children over\nthe other men of the same tribe, yet it must be borne in mind that it\nis an advancement in the standard of morality and an increase in the\nnumber of well-endowed men that certainly give a telling advantage to a\ntribe over another, for the tribe that includes many members who, from\npossessing in an eminent degree the spirit of patriotism, fidelity,\nobedience, courage and sympathy, and who were always prepared to give\naid to each other, and to sacrifice themselves for the common weal,\nwould be victorious over most other tribes. And this would be Natural\nSelection. Tribes at all times throughout the world have supplanted\nother tribes. Now, as morality is one element in their success, the\nstandard of morality and the number of well-endowed men will thus\neverywhere tend to rise and increase.\n\nVery difficult it is to form any judgment why one particular tribe and\nnot another has been successful in the Struggle for Existence and has\nrisen in the scale of civilization. Many savages are still in the same\ncondition of degradation as when first discovered. The greatest part\nof mankind has never evinced the slightest desire that their civil\ninstitutions should be improved. Progress is not, as we are apt to\nconsider, the normal rule in human society. Many concurrent favorable\nconditions, far too complex to be followed out, seem to determine\nhuman progress. A cool climate, it has been remarked, by leading to\nindustry and the various arts, has been indispensable thereto, but if\nthe climate has been too severe, as in the Arctic regions, there is a\ncheck to continual progress. Pressed by hard necessity, the Esquimaux\nhave succeeded in many ingenious inventions, but they can never attain,\nfor the reason already assigned, to any very great success. Nomadic\nhabits, whether along the shores of the sea, or over wide plains, or\nthrough dense tropical forests, have in all cases proved detrimental.\nPerhaps, the possession of some property, a fixed abode, and the union\nof many families under a leader or chief, are indispensable requisites\nfor civilization, as such habits almost necessitate the cultivation\nof the ground. From some such accident as the falling of the seeds\nof a fruit-tree on a heap of refuse and producing an unusually fine\nvariety may probably have resulted the first steps in cultivation,\nfor if the fruit were profitable and good for food, it would be a\nvery dull intellect that could not readily perceive, especially among\na people that had given up a roving habit of life, the advantage\nwhich would accrue from the planting of some more trees of a similar\nkind. They would undoubtedly be led to cultivation for themselves by\na simple observation of the plan by which nature contrives in keeping\nup a continuation of her many kinds of plants. Instead of dropping the\nseeds upon the ground as nature is prone to do, and trusting to their\nburial by accident or otherwise, seeing the advantage to be gained\nby burying them out of the reach of noxious influences, whether of\nclimate or animal life, they would soon learn to take the matter of\nplanting under their own watchful care rather than leave it to the\nseemingly thoughtless provision of nature. But the problem of the first\nadvance of pal\u00e6olithic man toward civilization, is at present much too\ndifficult to be solved, for it involves the consideration of certain\nelements which we know too little about, and their disentanglement\nfrom others whose value is of recognized significance in the domain of\nbiological science.\n\nWhile it has been shown how it has been possible for primeval man\nto have acquired a moral sense or conscience, yet it must not be\nforgotten that the lower animals, at least such as have come under\nthe civilizing influence of man, have also come into possession of\nthe same highly complex sentiment which has been of such inestimable\nservice to man for his progressive advancement. Other faculties, such\nas the powers of imagination, wonder, curiosity, an undefined sense of\nbeauty, a tendency to imitation, and the love of excitement or novelty,\nhave also been of immense importance in this direction, for they\ncould not fail to have led to the most capricious changes of customs\nand fashions. Caprice, it has been rather oddly claimed by a recent\nwriter, is \u201cone of the most remarkable and typical differences between\nsavages and brutes.\u201d It is not only possible to perceive how it is\nthat man is capricious, but the lower animals, as has been previously\nshown, are capricious in their affections, aversions and sense of\nbeauty. And there is good reason to suspect that they love novelty\nfor its own sake. Self-consciousness, individuality, abstraction,\ngeneral ideas, etc., which have been held by several recent writers\nas making the sole and complete distinction between man and the\nbrutes, seem useless subjects for discussion, since hardly any two\nauthors agree in their definitions of these high faculties. In man,\nsuch faculties could not have been fully developed until his mental\npowers had advanced to a high state of perfection, and this implies\nthe use of a highly-developed language. No one supposes that one of\nthe lower animals reflects whence he comes or whither he goes, or what\nis death or what is life, but can one feel sure that an old dog with\nan excellent memory, and some power of imagination as shown by his\ndreams, never reflects on his past pleasures in the chase? And this\nwould be a form of self-consciousness. On the contrary, as B\u00fcchner ably\nremarks, how little can the hard-worked wife of an Australian savage\nwho scarcely uses any abstract words and whose ability to count does\nnot extend beyond four, exert her self-consciousness, or reflect on\nthe origin, nature and aim of her own existence. That animals retain\ntheir mental individuality is unquestioned, for when any voice awakens\na train of old associations in the mind of some favorite dog, as in the\ncase of my dog Frisky, already referred to, he must have retained his\nmental individuality, although every atom of his brain had probably\nundergone change more than once during the five or six years he lived\nin my family. Animals have some ideas of numbers. The crow has been\nknown to count as far as the number six, and a dog I once had knew as\nwell as I did when Saturday came. The sense of beauty, which has been\ndeclared peculiar to man, is innate in birds. Certain bright colors and\ncertain sounds, when in harmony, excite in them pleasure as they do\nin man. The taste for the beautiful, at least so far as female beauty\nis concerned, is not of a special nature in the human mind, for it\ndiffers widely in the different races of man, and is not quite the same\neven in the different nations of the same race. If we are to judge\nfrom the hideous ornaments and the equally hideous music admired by\nmost savages, it might be urged that their \u00e6sthetic faculty was less\nhighly developed than it is in some species of birds. No animal, it is\nobvious, would be capable of admiring the nocturnal heaven, a beautiful\nlandscape, or refined music. And this should not be wondered at, for\nsuch high tastes, dependent as they are upon culture and complex\nassociations, are not even enjoyed by barbarous or by uneducated\npersons.\n\nSeeing that man in a state of nature has no pre\u00ebminence above the\nlower animals so far as his mental and moral qualities are concerned,\nand in many instances ranks far below the so-called brute, let us\nexamine fora short time his religious nature. No evidence exists to\nshow that man was aboriginally endowed with the ennobling belief in the\nexistence of an Omnipotent God. On the contrary, ample evidence, not\nfrom hasty travellers, but from men who have long resided with savages,\ncan be adduced to show that numerous races have existed, and still\nexist, who have no idea of one or more gods, and who have no words in\ntheir languages to express such an idea. If under the term religion\nis included the belief in unseen or spiritual agencies, the case is\nentirely different, for this belief seems to be almost universal\nwith the less civilized races. Nor is it difficult to understand how\nit originated. With the development of the imagination, wonder and\ncuriosity, and of a moderate power of reasoning, man would naturally\nhave craved to understand what was going on around him, and even have\nvaguely speculated on his own existence. According to McLennan man\nmust, in his efforts to arrive at some explanation of the phenomena\nof life, feign for himself. Judging from the universality of this\nlife, the same author remarks that \u201cthe simplest hypothesis, and the\nfirst to occur to men, seems to have been that natural phenomena are\nascribable to the presence in animals, plants and things, and in the\nforces of nature, of such spirits prompting to action as men are\nconscious they themselves possess.\u201d Probably, as has been clearly shown\nby Tyler, dreams may have first given rise to the notion of spirits.\nSavages do not readily discriminate between subjective and objective\nphenomena. When a savage dreams, the figures which appear in his vision\nare believed to have come from a distance and to stand over him, or\nthe soul of the dreamer goes out on a journey and returns with a\nremembrance of what has been seen. That tendency in savages to imagine\nthat natural objects and agencies are animated by living or spiritual\nbeings may be illustrated by a little fact which I have frequently\nnoticed. Standing on the corner of a street, waiting for a closed\nsnow-sweeper, which was driven by electricity, to pass, my attention\nwas directed to a young horse that was geared to a hansom. The horse\nwas at rest, and its driver, evidently awaiting some one, sat upon\nthe box. Upon the appearance of the sweeper the horse reared, turned\nhis face directly toward the object of his fear, pawed the pavement\nin the most impatient manner possible, and then looked wistfully and\npleadingly at his master, as though imploring protection from some\nfearful and gigantic monster. Another sweeper passed while I was\nstill in waiting, and the poor animal went through the same trying\nand fearful ordeal as before. He must, I think, have reasoned in a\nrapid and unconscious manner, that movement without any apparent cause\nindicated the presence of some strange living agent, which was about\nto do him some serious physical harm. Belief in spiritual agencies\nwould thus easily pass into a belief in the existence of one or more\ngods, for savages would naturally ascribe to spirits the same passions,\nthe same line of vengeance or simple form of justice, and the same\naffections which they themselves experienced.\n\nReligious devotion is a highly complex feeling. Love, complete\nsubmission to an exalted and mysterious superior, a strong sense of\ndependence, fear, reverence, gratitude, hope for the future and other\nelements enter into its composition. No being could experience so\ncomplex an emotion unless his intellectual and moral faculties had\nattained a moderately high level. Some approach to this high state of\nmind is visible in the profound love of a dog for his master, for it is\nassociated with complete submission, some fear, reverence, gratitude\nand perhaps other feelings. A dog\u2019s behavior towards his master, after\na long absence, is widely different from that which he shows towards\nhis fellows, for his transports of joy in the latter case are less\nintense, and his every action savors of a mere sense of equality. But\nupon his master, as Prof. Braubach goes so far as to maintain, he looks\nas on a god.\n\nThese high mental faculties, which first led man to believe in unseen\nspiritual agencies, and subsequently in fetishism, polytheism and\nmonotheism, would infallibly lead him, as long as his reasoning powers\nremained at a very low level, to various strange superstitions and\ncustoms, many of which, such as the sacrifice of human beings to a\nblood-loving god and the trial of innocent persons by the ordeal of\npoison or fire, are too terrible to contemplate. It is well, however,\nto reflect occasionally on these superstitions, for they show us what\nan infinite debt of gratitude we owe to improved reason, science and\naccumulated knowledge. How much better is the life of civilized man\nthan that of the savage, for as Lubbock has well remarked, \u201cit is not\ntoo much to say that the horrible dread of unknown evil hangs like a\nthick cloud over savage life, and embitters every pleasure.\u201d\n\nFrom the opinions advanced, it is evident that the belief in God has\nbeen the ultimate outcome of belief in unseen spiritual agencies.\nThere has been a gradual leading up through fetishism and polytheism\nto monotheism. If religion implies belief in unseen agencies, as\nwell as belief in a personal agency in the universe strong enough to\ninfluence conduct in any degree, then it is obvious that there has been\na progressive advancement in religious thought, each succeeding form\nof religion by its superior advantages over its predecessor tending\nto supplant it wherever and whenever its beneficent influences are\nfelt. It is true that fetishism and polytheism still prevail among\nrude, uncultured peoples, as well as the worship of false deities\nand prophets, but with the spread of the civilizing and elevating\ninfluence of Christianity these religions in the fitness of time\nwill disappear. Christianity, from its foundation in Judaism, has\nthroughout been a religion of sacrifice and sorrow. It has been a\nreligion of blood and tears, and yet one of profoundest happiness to\nits votaries. While fakirs hang on hooks, and pagans cut themselves and\neven their children, for the sake of propitiating diabolical deities,\nyet Christianity, which has its roots in Judaism, has no need for such\npractices. It is _par excellence_ the religion of sorrow, because\nit reaches to truer and deeper levels of our spiritual nature, and\ntherefore has capabilities both of sorrow and joy which are presumably\nnon-existent except in civilized man. They are the sorrows and joys\nwhich arise from the fully-developed consciousness of sin against a\nGod of Love, as distinguished from propitiation of malignant spirits.\nThese joys and sorrows are wholly spiritual, not merely physical. \u201cThou\ndesirest no sacrifice.\u201d God\u2019s only sacrifice at the hands of sinful man\nis a troubled spirit.\n\nEstimated by the influence which He has exerted on mankind, there can\nbe no question, even from a secular point of view, that Christ is much\nthe greatest man who has ever lived. That the revolution which His\nteachings have effected in human life is immeasurable and unparalleled\nby any other movement in history is unquestioned. Though most nearly\napproached by the religion of the Jews, of which it is a development,\nso that it may be regarded as of a piece with it, it is evident that\nthis whole system of religion is so immeasurably in advance of all\nothers that it may be truthfully said, if it had not been for the\nJews, the human race would have had no religion worthy of serious\nconsideration. Had it not been for this religion man\u2019s spiritual side\nwould not have been developed in civilized life. And although there are\nnumberless individuals who are all unconscious of its development in\nthemselves, yet these have been influenced to an enormous extent by the\nreligious atmosphere by which they are surrounded.\n\nNot only is Christianity so immeasurably in advance of all other\nreligions, but it is no less of every other system of thought that has\never been promulgated in regard to what is moral and spiritual. Neither\nphilosophy, science nor poetry has ever produced results in thought,\nconduct or beauty in any degree comparable with it. What has science\nor philosophy done for the thought of mankind compared with what has\nbeen done by the single doctrine, \u201cGod is love?\u201d The Story of the\nCross, from its commencement in prophetic aspiration to its culmination\nin the Gospel, is pre\u00ebminently the most magnificent presentation in\nliterature. Only to a man wholly destitute of religious perception can\nChristianity fail to appear the greatest exhibition of the beautiful,\nthe sublime, and of all else that appeals to our spiritual nature,\nwhich has ever been known upon the earth. It is not only adapted to men\nof the highest culture, but the most remarkable thing about it is its\nperfect adaptation to all sorts and conditions of men. Its problems,\nhistorical and philosophical, open up to you worlds of material, over\nwhich you may spend your life with the same interminable interest as\nthe student meets in the fields of natural science.\n\nWhatever our theory of the origin of man, there can be no doubt that\nwe all feel that his intellectual part is higher than the animal; and\nthat the moral is higher than the intellectual, whatever our theory\nof either may be; and that the spiritual is higher than the moral,\nwhatever our theory of religion may be. It is what is understood by his\nmoral, and still more by his spiritual qualities, that make up what is\ncalled his character, and, astonishing to say, it is character that\ntells in the long run. Morality and spirituality are two different\nthings, for a man may be highly moral in conduct without being in any\ndegree spiritual in nature, and the reverse, though to a less extent.\nObjectively, the same distinction subsists between morals and religion.\nIntellectual pleasures are more satisfying and enduring than sensual,\nor even sensuous; and spiritual, to those who have experienced them,\nthan intellectual, an objective fact, abundantly testified to by those\nwho have had experience, which seems to indicate that the spiritual\nnature of man is the highest part of man--the culminating point of his\nbeing. That there will always be materialists and spiritualists, as\nRenan says, is probably true, inasmuch as it will always be observable\non the one hand that there is no thought without brain, while, on the\nother hand, the instincts of man will always aspire to higher beliefs.\nIf religion is true, and life is a state of probation, this is just\nwhat ought to be. It is not probable that the materialistic position,\nwhich is discredited even by philosophy, is due simply to custom and a\nwant of imagination. Else why the inextinguishable instincts which we\nhave thus shown to exist?\n\n[Illustration: ERA OF MIND AND HEART.\n\nThings as They Will Exist in a Future Earth-Life.]\n\nEvolution, not only of the earth, but of its organic machinery, by\nnatural causes, is now no longer doubted. That this has taken place\nby degrees is equally unquestioned. Now, if there is a Deity, the\nfact is certainly of the nature of a first principle, and it must be\nfirst of all first principles. No one can dispute this, nor can any\none dispute the necessary conclusion that, if there be a Deity, he is\nknowable, if knowable at all, by intuition and not by reason. From\nits very nature, as a little thought is sufficient to show, reason is\nutterly incapable of adjudicating on the subject, for it is a process\nof inferring from the known to the unknown. It would be against\nreason itself to suppose that Deity, even if He exists, can be known\nby reason. He must be known, if knowable at all, by intuition. If\nthere is a Deity, then it seems to be in some indefinite degree more\nprobable that He should impart a Revelation than that He should not\nhave done so. As a mere matter of evidence, a sudden revelation might\nbe much more convincing than a gradual one, but it would be quite out\nof analogy with causation in nature. Besides, a gradual one might be\ngiven easily, and of demonstrative value, as by making prophecies of\nhistorical events, scientific discoveries and other things so clear as\nto be unmistakable. But a demonstrative revelation has not been made,\nand there may well be good reasons why it should not have been made.\nIf there are such reasons, as, for example, our state of probation, we\ncan well see \u201cthat the gradual unfolding of a plan of revelation, from\nearliest dawn of history to the end of the world, is much preferable\nto a sudden manifestation sufficiently late in the world\u2019s history to\nbe historically attested for all subsequent time.\u201d Gradual evolution,\nas has been said before, is in analogy with God\u2019s other work. If\nRevelation has been of a progressive character, then it follows that it\nmust have been so not only historically, but intellectually, morally\nand spiritually, for in such sequence could it be always adapted to the\nadvancing conditions of the human race.\n\nThus it will be seen that all through the ages some mighty influence\nhas been at work, directly or indirectly, in preparing this earth\nby slow and gradual changes for a steadily progressive succession\nof vegetable and animal life. That life best fitted to meet new and\nchanging conditions of environment being preserved by a process of\nnatural selection. And from a few primordial types, far simpler than\nthe lowest of existing structureless moners, or from some living\nprotoplasmic mass, elaborated by some form of energy acting upon\ninorganic nature, there have been evolved in the millions of years of\nearth-life our existing flora and fauna. Man, the pinnacle of animal\nlife, has come up through the life that preceded him, and bears in the\nhistory of his development from the ovum to the adult state the line\nof his descent. Not only has his physical nature been evolved through\nthe action of natural laws impressed upon living matter by Deity, but\nthat subtle principle, termed mind, which has attained such a wonderful\ngrowth in his civilized condition, is but the outcome of the mind of\na long line of life antecedent to his appearance on the globe. His\nmoral nature was similarly acquired, and most probably in the manner\nalready explained. Pal\u00e6olithic man, like the Australian of to-day, was,\nas has been shown, but little superior in intelligence to some of the\nanimals with whom he was contemporaneous. He lived the life of the mere\nanimal, and as an animal could be said to have had no pre\u00ebminence above\na beast. Like the latter, he was a living, breathing frame, or body of\nlife; a _living_, but not an _everliving_, soul. In time, as conditions\nbecame favorable, he passed _into_ the moral stage of his being, but\nnot without increased intellectuality, and would thus have continued,\nbut going on and adding to his mental and moral possessions, had not\nDeity, in the fitness of time, prepared the way through Christ, whereby\nhis corruptible nature should be made incorruptible and immortal.\nUnless man is \u201cborn of the spirit\u201d he cannot inherit the kingdom of\nGod. He must be \u201cchanged into spirit,\u201d put on incorruptibility and\nimmortality of body, or he will be physically incapable of retaining\nthe honor, glory and power of the kingdom forever, or even during\nChrist\u2019s reign of a thousand years upon earth.\n\nThat there is a distinction between _a living soul_ and a _spiritual\nbody_ cannot be questioned. Speaking about _body_, the apostle Paul\nsays, \u201cthere is _a natural body_, and there is _a spiritual body_,\nbut he does not content himself with simply declaring this truth, but\ngoes further and proves it by quoting the language of Moses, saying,\n\u201cfor so it is written, the first man Adam was made into _a living\nsoul_;\u201d and then adding, \u201cthe last Adam _into a spirit_ giving life.\u201d\nAnd in another place, speaking of the latter, he says of Him, \u201cnow\nthe Lord is the spirit. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding\nas in a mirror, the glory of the Lord, are changed into His image\nfrom glory into glory, as by _the Lord the Spirit_.\u201d Therefore, the\nproof of the apostle\u2019s proposition, that there is a _natural body_ as\ndistinct from a _spiritual body_, lies in the testimony that \u201cAdam was\nmade into _a living soul_,\u201d showing that he considered a natural, or\nanimal body, and a living soul, as one and the same thing. If he did\nnot, then there was no proof in the quotation of what he affirmed.\nMortality, then, is life manifested through a corruptible body, and\nimmortality is life manifested through an incorruptible body. Hence,\nthe necessity laid down in the saying of the apostle, \u201cthis corruptible\nbody must put on incorruption, and this mortal put on immortality,\u201d\nbefore death can be \u201cswallowed up in victory,\u201d--a doctrine of \u201clife\nand incorruptibility\u201d that was new to the Greeks and Romans, and\nbrought to light only through the gospel of the kingdom and name of\nJesus Christ. To them it was foolishness, and to many at the present\nday incredible, because they do not understand the glad tidings of\nthe age to come. God could have created all things upon a spiritual\nor incorruptible basis at once, but in that case the globe would have\nbeen filled with men and women equal to the angels in nature, power\nand intellect, and hence would have been without a history, and its\npopulation characterless. And this would not have been according to\nHis plan, for in it the animal must precede the spiritual just as\nsurely as the acorn must precede the oak. The Bible has to do with\nthings and not with imaginations; with bodies and not phantasms; with\n_living souls_ of every species; with _corporeal_ beings of other\nworlds, and with incorruptible and undying men, but is as silent as\nthe grave about such _souls_ as men pretend to cure. For the sons of\nAdam to become sons of God, they must be the subjects of an adoption,\nwhich is attainable only by a divinely appointed means. It must be by a\nprocess of selection. \u201cSince by a man came death, by a man also came a\nresurrection of dead persons. For as in the Adam they all die, so also\nin the Christ shall they all be made alive. But every one in his order.\nChrist the first fruits; afterward _they that are Christ\u2019s_ at His\ncoming.\u201d Here it is obvious that the apostle is not writing of all the\nindividuals of the human race, but only such that become the subject\nof _a pardon of life_. It is true that all men do die, but it is not\ntrue that they are all the subject of pardon. Those who are pardoned\nare \u201cthe many,\u201d who are sentenced to live forever. The sentence to\npardon of life is through Jesus Christ who in pouring out His blood\nupon the cross, was made a sacrifice for sin. \u201cHe was delivered for our\noffences, and raised again for our justification,\u201d that is, for the\npardon of those _who believe the gospel_. As it is written, \u201che that\nbelieveth the gospel, and is baptized, shall be saved.\u201d Hence, \u201c_the\nobedience of faith_\u201d is made the condition of righteousness, and this\nobedience implies the existence of a \u201c_law of faith_,\u201d as attested\nby that of Moses, which is \u201c_the law of works_.\u201d Having believed the\ngospel and been baptized, such a person is required to \u201cwalk worthy of\nthe vocation,\u201d or calling, \u201cwherewith he has been called,\u201d that by so\ndoing he may be \u201caccounted worthy\u201d of being \u201cborn of spirit,\u201d that he\nmay become \u201cspirit,\u201d or a spiritual body, and so enter the kingdom of\nGod, crowned with \u201cglory, honor, incorruptibility and life.\u201d From all\nthe above, it must be obvious to the unbiassed mind, that all will not\narise to newness of life, \u201cfor as many of you, as have been _baptized\ninto Christ_ have put on Christ, and if ye be Christ\u2019s, _then_ are\nye the seed of Abraham, and _heirs_ according to the promise.\u201d When\nthey have been thus baptized, then they have received the spirit of\nadoption, or have been elected into God\u2019s family, and then they can\naddress God as their Father who is in heaven.\n\nThus adopted into God\u2019s family through faith in Jesus Christ, it must\nnot be supposed that they have attained to that perfect condition of\nknowing all that is to be known. New glories will continually open\nup to their admiring vision, and new facts be revealed through the\neternity of futurity. Man will carry his earth-acquired knowledge into\nthe other world, and little by little will he add to his fund. Those\nwho have made the best of their time in their probationary existence,\nwill rank as much above their fellows in the heaven-life as they\ndid in the earth-life, and like the others will reach up to higher\nacquirements. There will be no equalization of talents, capacities\nand possessions, but each will be satisfied with his own, and all\nwill endeavor to be as like unto Christ as the conditions of their\nheavenly environment will permit. There will be grades of ability and\ncharacter in the new life, but all of the very highest standard when\nmeasured by what prevails in the earth-life. This is the teaching of\nthe Scriptures. \u201c_There is_ one glory of the sun, and another glory of\nthe moon, and another glory of the stars; for _one_ star differeth from\n_another_ star in glory. So also _is_ the resurrection of the dead.\u201d\n\nNow as to the part that animals and plants shall figure in the new\nexistence. Revelation, as has been seen, was given to man. This does\nnot imply that the lower forms of life were not made \u201cpartakers of\nthe divine nature.\u201d When man was placed upon this earth, or rather\nwhen in the sequence of events, which was brought about by the\nprescribed scheme of Divinity, he appeared upon the earth, he was\ngiven the control of all the creatures of God\u2019s hands, to rule them\nas his judgment seemed best. They were a necessary part of the plan\nof creation. God gave the man directions concerning them, and what\nthey are, and we refer to the domesticated species especially, they\nhave thus been made through man\u2019s wise, intelligent and thoughtful\nselection. This has been the instrument through which God has worked\nin building up a history and a character for the humbler works of His\nhands. That they shall pass into the future life with him, at least\nsuch as have shown their fitness to endure, there can be no doubt\nin the mind of any one who pauses a few brief moments in the rush\nand turmoil of everyday life and considers the matter with all due\nseriousness. All existence, as we have elsewhere claimed, is a unit.\nAll life, like all love, is divine. There can nothing exist that does\nnot contain some sort of development of soul. There is no escape from\nthis assertion. Instead of isolating ourselves then from the humbler\ncreatures of God\u2019s workmanship, let us recognize them as our kin and\ninclude them in the grand scheme of redemption, and as partakers with\nus in the future state of Divine Love and in higher and endlessly\nhigher development and progress.\n\n\n\n\nMAN\u2019S PRE\u00cbMINENCE.\n\n\nThere is a popular tradition that somewhere in the Scriptures we are\ntaught that of all living denizens of the earth, man alone possesses\na spirit, and that he alone survives in spirit after the death of the\nmaterial body. Were this the truth, no room would exist for argument\nto those who profess belief in a literal rendering of the Scriptures,\nand who base their faith upon that literal belief. However much such a\nstatement might seem to controvert all ideas of benevolence, justice\nand common-sense, such believers would feel bound to accept it on\ntrust, and to wait a future time for its full comprehension.\n\nEven the possession of reason is denied by many persons to animals,\ntheir several actions being ascribed to the power of instinct, and it\nis therefore not the least bit strange that all but a comparatively\nfew should believe that when an animal dies, its life-principle dies\ntoo. The animating power, they claim, is annihilated, while the body\nis resolved into its constituent elements so as to take form in other\nbodies.\n\nTwo passages of Scripture, one in the Psalms and the other in\nEcclesiastes, are almost entirely, if not wholly, responsible for\nthis belief. The former, which runs in the authorized version,\n\u201cNevertheless, man being in honor, abideth not; he is like the beasts\nthat perish,\u201d is that which is generally quoted as decisive of the\nwhole question. \u201cMan, being in honor, hath no understanding, but is\ncompared to the beasts that perish\u201d is another translation, but differs\nnot materially from the other. The second passage referred to from\nEcclesiastes, reads: \u201cWho knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward,\nand the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?\u201d Now,\nit is upon the strength of these two passages that we are called upon\nto believe that when a beast dies its life, like that of an expired\nlamp, goes out forever. Nothing is more dangerous in the exposition of\nScripture than attempting to explain a passage, however simple it may\nseem to be, without reference to the original text, for the translator\nmay have mistaken the true sense of the words, or he may have\ninadequately expressed their signification, or, owing to a change in\nmeaning, the words of a passage may now bear an exactly contrary sense\nto that conveyed when they were first written.\n\nBut laying aside this point for the present, and accepting the passage\nas it stands, as well as the literal meaning of the words as generally\nunderstood, there can be no doubt that we must believe that beasts are\nnot possessed of immortal life. If, however, we are to take the literal\nsense of the Bible, and no other, we are equally forced to believe that\nman has no life after death. The book of Psalms is full of examples.\nLet us take a few from the many that might be given: \u201cIn death there\nis no remembrance of thee: in the grave, who shall give thee thanks?\u201d\n\u201cThe dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence.\u201d\n\u201cHis breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day\nhis thoughts perish.\u201d Taken solely in their literal sense, there can\nbe no doubt of their meaning. Nothing more gloomy, dreary or more\ndespondent can be found in the entire range of heathen literature than\nthese passages, and others that might be quoted from the inspired\nPsalmist, in the contemplation of death. In the very book from which\nthe single passage was taken, which is claimed to deny immortality to\nthe lower animals, there are five times as many passages that proclaim\nthe same sad end to the life of man. We are distinctly and definitely\ntold therein that those who have died have no remembrance of God,\nand cannot praise Him. Death has been spoken of as the \u201cland of\nforgetfulness\u201d--the place of darkness, where all man\u2019s thoughts perish.\nCertainly no more than this can be said of the \u201cbeasts that perish.\u201d\n\nOther holy writers make similar affirmations. Speaking of mankind in\ngeneral, who \u201cdwell in houses of clay,\u201d Job says: \u201cThey are destroyed\nfrom morning to evening; _they perish forever_, without any regarding\nit.\u201d Again he says, and the passage is more definite than the\npreceding: \u201cAs the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away, so he that\ngoeth down to the grave shall come up no more.\u201d And still again: \u201cMan\ndieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is\nhe? As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth\nup: so man lieth down, and riseth not.\u201d Chapters III and X tell of the\npiteous lamentations of Job over his life, wherein he complains that he\never was born, that existence was ever given to him, that he was ever\ntaken from a state of absolute nonentity, and that even death itself\ncan bring no relief to his miseries except extinction.\n\nTurning to Ecclesiastes, in which book occurs the solitary passage\nwhich is held to disprove a future existence to the lower animals,\nthere are passages which are even more emphatic as to the immortality\nof man. Read what is declared: \u201cI said in my heart concerning the\nestate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they\nmight see that they themselves are beasts. For that which befalleth the\nsons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them. As the\none dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath, so that\na man has no pre\u00ebminence over a beast: for all is vanity. All go unto\none place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.\u201d Further it\nis said: \u201cFor the living know that they shall die, but the dead know\nnot anything, neither have they any more a reward, for the memory of\nthem is forgotten.\u201d \u201cWhatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy\nmight; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in\nthe grave whither thou goest.\u201d Literally interpreted, no one can doubt\nthe import of these words from Ecclesiastes, for they definitely state\nthat, as regards a future life, there is no distinction between man and\nbeast, and that when they die they all go to the same place. It is also\ndistinctly stated that after death man can do no work, know nothing,\nnor receive any reward. Were we to deduce our ideas of the condition\nof man after death from the irrepressibly sad and gloomy passages from\nJob and Ecclesiastes, most deplorable and hopeless would be the very\nthought of dissolution. But we do not accept them in this light. They\nare written symbolically, and there underlies them a spiritual sense.\nIt is not, however, the latter sense that concerns us at present, but\nthe literal meaning of the translation, and, according to that literal\nmeaning, if we take two texts to prove that beasts have no future life,\nwe are compelled by no less than fourteen passages to believe that man,\nin common with beasts, has no better prospect. We have no right to say\nwhich passages are to be taken literally, and which parabolically,\nbut must apply the same test to all alike, and treat all in a similar\nmanner.\n\nAll classical readers are familiar with that wonderful eleventh book of\nHomer\u2019s Odyssey, called the Necyomanteia, or Invocation of the Dead, in\nwhich Ulysses is depicted as descending into the regions of departed\nspirits for the purpose of invoking them and obtaining advice as to his\nfuture adventures. Dreary, and horrible indeed, are the revelations\nwhich the whole of the strange history makes of the condition of the\nfuture life. All is wild and dark, and hunger, thirst and discontent\nprevail. Nothing is heard of elysian fields, where piety, wisdom and\nvirtue abound. Gloom, misery and vain regrets for earth pervade the\nentire episode. When is considered this heathen poet\u2019s ideas concerning\nthe future state of man, it is no wonder that sensual pleasures should\nbe held as the principal object of his life when he is to look forward\nto such a future, a future from which neither wisdom, nor virtue,\nnor piety could save him, and where there is nothing but an eternity\nof gloom, remorse and hopeless despondency. Sad as this picture is,\nyet it is far brighter than that of the Psalmist, the Preacher, or\nJob. Those who have passed into the world of spirits still retain\ntheir individuality after death, being distinguished in the spirit as\nthey had been in the flesh. Memory survives the body\u2019s death. Naught\nof their earthly career is forgotten. They still have an interest\nin their friends that remain in the body whom they love, and over\nwhose well-being they unceasingly watch. No such consolation, as has\nbeen described, exists in the future state of man if the passages of\nScripture that have been quoted are taken in a literal sense. Man, in\nthat event, passes at death into a place of darkness, forgetfulness and\nsilence, where there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom,\nand where even his very thoughts perish. No other interpretation, if\ntaken literally, can be put upon them, for the statements are too\nexplicit to be explained away or softened.\n\nIn the outward sense of their writings the Psalmist, Job and the\nPreacher are on an equality with Horace in their absolute unbelief in\na future existence, and in a consequent desire to snatch what fleeting\npleasures they can from earth before the inexorable law of fate\nconsigns them to dark oblivion. Startling as it may seem to compare the\nteachings of a Greek idolater and of a Latin Epicurean heathen with\nthose of sacred writers, yet it is still more startling to show that\nthe teachings of the Epicurean sensualist are not a whit wiser than\nthose of the Scriptural writer, while those of the Greek poet are very\nmuch better. Such, however, is the fact, and, if we are to be bound by\nthe literal interpretation of the Scriptures, there is no possibility\nof denying it without doing violence to reason and common-sense.\n\nWe are now brought face to face with the point previously mentioned.\nDoes the authorized version give a full and correct interpretation of\nthe original? It is claimed that it does not. The word \u201cperish,\u201d it is\nsaid, does not occur at all in the Hebrew text, nor is even the idea\nexpressed. No such translation as \u201cbeasts that perish,\u201d which appears\ntwice in our version, is justified by the Hebrew, the words of the\noriginal implying \u201cdumb beasts.\u201d The idea of perishing, in the sense\nof annihilation, does not seem to be implied. Let us take the Jewish\nBible, which is acknowledged to be the best and closest translation\nin the English language, and examine it. Both in verses 12 and 20 of\nPsalm XLIX, where the passage occurs, the rendering reads: \u201cMan _that\nis_ in honor, and understandeth _this_ not, is like the beasts _that\nare_ irrational.\u201d As an alternative reading for \u201cirrational,\u201d the word\n\u201cdumb\u201d is given in a footnote. A somewhat similar reading is found in\nthe Septuagint, which, according to Brunton, runs as follows: \u201cMan that\nis in honor understands not; he is compared to the senseless cattle,\nand is like them.\u201d In Wycliffe\u2019s Bible, which is a translation from\nthe Vulgate, the passage is rendered: \u201cA man whanne he was in honour\nunderstood not; he is comparisoned to unwise beestis, and is maad lijk\nto tho.\u201d The \u201cDouay\u201d Bible, made by the English Roman Catholic College\nof Douay, and which is the version accepted by that branch of the\nChurch in England, renders the passage: \u201cMan, when he was in honor,\ndid not understand; he hath been compared to senseless beasts and made\nlike to them.\u201d Numerous other translations might be adduced, and it is\nsafe to say that scarcely any of them imply the idea of perishing in\nthe sense of being reduced to nothing. Even supposing that the word\n\u201cperish\u201d is translated correctly, it does not therefore follow that\nannihilation is meant. Take the tenth verse of the same Psalm in our\nauthorized version: \u201cFor he seeth that wise men die, and likewise the\nfool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others.\u201d\nSurely no sensible, intelligent person would construe this passage\ninto a declaration that the wise and fool and brutish had no existence\nafter the death of the body.\n\nThat the last verse of the Psalm is a summary of the whole poem,\nseems not improbable. A vivid picture of the true object of man\u2019s\nlife in this world is drawn by the Psalmist, and also of his tendency\nto lose sight thereof. In it he sets forth the shortness of human\nexistence, and shows that neither riches, station in life, nor fame,\nwhich appertain to the mere earthly career of man, can endure after\nhis death. He, therefore, reasonably concludes that men who fix\ntheir hearts upon these earthly vanities ignore the honor of their\nmanhood, and degrade themselves to the plane of the dumb beasts, whose\noperations are, as far as we know, restricted to this present world.\n\nFrom what has been adduced it will at once be evident that the idea\nthat beasts are said by the Psalmist to have no future life may be\ndismissed from our minds, and that the passage may be rejected as\ntotally irrelevant to the subject. This is of the greatest importance,\nas the passage in question is the only one which even appears to make\nany definite statement as to the condition of the lower animals after\ndeath. Every reasonable person will now see how essential it is that\nthe true meaning of the Hebrew text should be known, and that the\nPsalmist should not be charged with the introduction of a doctrine to\nwhich, whether true or false, he makes not the slightest reference.\n\nHaving settled beyond the possibility of refutation the true meaning\nimplied by the \u201cbeasts that perish,\u201d we will now turn to the passage in\nEcclesiastes, which, as has been seen, is the only one which contains\nany direct reference to the future of the lower orders of animal\nexistence: \u201cWho knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the\nspirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?\u201d--exclaimeth the\nPreacher. Here we have an admission that, whether the spirit ascend or\ndescend, both man and beasts do have spirits, and these are undoubtedly\nthe same in essence, for the Hebrew word is identical is both cases.\nIn the Jewish Bible the rendering is _verbatim_ the same as that of\nour authorized version. Read, instead of an isolated verse, the entire\npassage:--\n\n\u201cI said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that\nGod might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves\nare beasts.\n\n\u201cFor that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even the\none thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea,\nthey have all one breath; so that a man hath no pre\u00ebminence above a\nbeast: for all is vanity.\n\n\u201cAll go to one place; all are of the same dust, and all turn to dust\nagain.\n\n\u201cWho knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the\nbeast that goeth downward to the earth?\n\n\u201cWherefore I perceive that _there_ is nothing better than that a man\nshould rejoice in his own works; for that _is_ his portion; for who\nshall bring him to see what shall be after him?\u201d\n\nEvery page of Ecclesiastes breathes of the self-reproach of the\nPreacher for a wasted life. Speaking from his own sad, bitter\nexperience, he shows that riches, glory, pleasure and even wisdom are\nnothing but utter emptiness. The same theme pervades the forty-ninth\nPsalm, but the Psalmist treats it with grave solemnity, admonishing\nhis hearers of the shortness of human life, and showing that if a\nman forgets the glory of his manhood, made in the image of God, he\nputs himself on the level of the dumb brutes. Though reaching the\nsame conclusion, yet the Preacher views the subject from a different\nstandpoint. Employing biting sarcasm rather than solemn warning, he\nexposes the vanity of all worldly and selfish pleasures, and the\nmiserable fate that awaits the voluptuary, and then ironically advises\nhis readers to place in such their entire happiness.\n\nSo palpable is the bitter irony of the author throughout the book,\nand even in the twenty-first verse of the third chapter, yet by no\nmanner of interpretation can this specialized text be made to mean that\nbeasts are annihilated after death, while men rise again and soar above\nearthly things to honor and glory. Ironically the writer assumes in\nit that his readers do not know the difference between the spirit of\nman and that of beast, and, reasoning from that position, advises them\nthat \u201c_there is_ nothing better for a man _than that_ he should eat and\ndrink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labor.\u201d\n\nFrom what has been shown, it is evident that the passage from Psalms\ndoes not even contain the idea of annihilation as regards beasts, and\nthat the one from Ecclesiastes is entirely misapprehended. That they\nhave no bearing upon the subject must now be manifest. We cannot,\ntherefore, resist the conclusion that the Scriptures do not deny future\nlife to the inferior animals.\n\nThis admission gives courage for a step still further forward. Man\u2019s\nlatest achievement is to conceive that all existence is a unit. One\nspirit pervades the whole natural world, an emanation from the Spirit\nof Him who sitteth enthroned in the Eternal Heavens, and who not only\nis, as Moses declares, \u201cGod of the spirits of all flesh,\u201d but God of\nthe spirits of all animate nature. We cannot divorce the two great\nkingdoms of nature. If there is a futurity of existence for man, whom\nwe are told was \u201cmade a little lower than the angels,\u201d but who in\nthese latter days seems to have deteriorated, and who in thousands\nof instances displays a character far less noble and honorable than\nthat of the dog which he kennels and feeds, then there must be for\nthe so-called brute, the companion of his joys and his sorrows. If\nfor beast, bird, reptile, fish and insect, and none can be so foolish\nin the face of the most indubitable evidence to deny it, then there\nmust be for tree, shrub and flower, for God, who is infinite in love,\nmercy and charity, would not be God if solely concerned with the future\nof the smallest fractional part of His children. Man is psychically\nrelated to all life. There is soul, in some sort of development, in\neverything; and certainly God meant in His grand scheme of redemption\nto lift the world, not a portion of it, but the entire world, out of\nits lower ideas into its higher beauties and realities.\n\n\n\n\nFUTURE LIFE.\n\n\nThat the Scriptures, contrary to popular tradition, do not deny a\nfuture life to the lower animals has already been conclusively shown.\nBut do they declare anything in favor of another world for beast as\nwell as for man? This is a question which we shall now endeavor to\nanswer. As to man\u2019s immortality, the Old Testament Scriptures teach the\ndoctrine by inference rather than by direct assertion, for the reason,\nas has been presumed, that the writers of the several books, which were\nselected at a comparatively late period from among many others and\nformed into the volume popularly designated the Bible, assumed as a\nmatter of course that man was immortal, and therefore did not concern\nthemselves about a matter which they supposed everybody knew. But as\nfar as the Old Testament goes, inference tells more strongly in favor\nof the beast\u2019s immortality than that of man. Although in either case\nthere does not appear to be any definite assertion of a futurity of\nexistence, yet there is no such denial of the immortality of the beast\nas has already been shown in the case of the man.\n\nBeasts, as readers of the Old Testament only too well know, were\nincluded in the merciful provision of the Sabbath, which, in its\nessence, was a spiritual and not simply a physical ordinance. And,\nagain, we find many provisions in the ancient Scriptures against\nmaltreating the lower animals, or giving them unnecessary pain, and\nthese provisions stand side by side in the Divine Law with those which\napply to man. All are familiar with the prohibition of \u201cseething a kid\nin its mother\u2019s milk,\u201d and the non-muzzling of the ox in treading out\nthe corn lest he should suffer the pangs of hunger in the presence of\nthe food which he may not eat. Even bird\u2019s nesting was regulated by\nDivine Law. \u201cIf a bird\u2019s nest chance to be before thee in the way in\nany tree, or on the ground, _whether they_ be young ones, or eggs,\nand the dam sitting upon the young, or upon the eggs, thou shalt not\ntake the dam with the young: _But_ thou shalt in any wise let the dam\ngo, and take the young to thee; that it may be well with thee, and\n_that_ thou mayest prolong _thy_ days.\u201d Moreover, as many animals must\nbe killed daily, some for sacrifice and others solely for food, the\nstrictest regulations were enjoined that their death should be sharp\nand quick, and that the whole of their blood should be poured out upon\nthe ground lest they suffer lingering pain.\n\nIn keeping with the same consideration felt by Deity towards the kid\nand ox and bird, as expressed in the Law, we would refer to the few\nconcluding sentences of the Book of Jonah:--\n\n\u201cThou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not labored,\nneither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a\nnight.\n\n\u201cAnd should I not spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than\nsix score thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand\nand their left hand; _and also much cattle_?\u201d\n\n\u201cEvery beast of the forest is mine,\u201d saith the Lord, \u201cand the\ncattle upon a thousand hills.\u201d And again, \u201cI know all the fowls of\nthe mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine.\u201d Similar\npassages, in which God announces himself as the protector of the beast\nas well as of man, could be given, for the Scriptures are full of them.\nWho does not recall the well-known saying of our Lord respecting the\nlives of the sparrows: \u201cAre not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and\none of them shall not fall on the ground without the notice of your\nFather.\u201d\n\nCowper in his \u201cTask,\u201d makes allusion to this branch of our subject in\nthe following lines:--\n\n    \u201cMan may dismiss compassion from his heart,\n    But God will never. When He charged the Jew\n    To assist his foe\u2019s down-fallen beast to rise;\n    And when the bush-exploring boy, that seized\n    The young, to let the parent-bird go free;\n    Proved He not plainly that His meaner works,\n    Are yet His care, and have an interest all--\n    All in the universal Father\u2019s love?\u201d\n\nOne passage there is which certainly does point to a future for the\nbeast as well as for man, and which places them both on the very same\nplane. It is found in Genesis, ninth chapter and fifth verse, and\nconstitutes a part of the law which was delivered to Noah, and which\nwas subsequently incorporated in the fuller law given through Moses.\n\u201cAnd surely your blood of your lives will I require,\u201d said God to Noah\nand his sons, \u201cat the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the\nhand of every man; at the hand of every man\u2019s brother will I require\nthe life of man.\u201d In Exodus, chapter twenty-one and twenty-eighth\nverse, we read, \u201cIf an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die: then\nthe ox shall be surely stoned, and his flesh shall not be eaten; but\nthe owner of the ox _shall be_ quit.\u201d\n\nWhile there are no passages of Scripture, as has been seen, which deny\nimmortality of life to the lower animals, yet there are certainly some\nwhich tend to show it by inference. But the Scriptures were written for\nhuman beings, and not for the lower animals, and therefore it could\nhardly be expected that any information could be gained therefrom on\nthe subject. As we find so few direct references to the future state\nof man, it is not at all to be expected that we should receive direct\ninstruction upon the after-life of the beast.\n\nBut just as man has had within himself for untold ages an intuitive\nwitness to his own immortality, yet there are those, lovers and\nfriends of the so-called brute, who have an instinctive sense that\nanimals, some of whom surpass in love, unselfishness, generosity,\nconscience and self-sacrifice many of their human brethren, must share\nwith him in addition to these virtues an immortal spirit in which they\ntake their rise. No more eminent personage than Bishop Butler was a\nbeliever in this idea. Substantially he asserts that the Scriptures\ngive no reasons why the lower animals should not possess immortal\nsouls. Similar sentiments have been voiced by equally distinguished\nwriters.\n\nSouthey, writing of the death of a favorite spaniel that had been the\ncompanion of his boyhood, says:--\n\n    \u201cAh, poor companion! when thou followedst last\n    Thy master\u2019s parting footsteps to the gate\n    Which closed forever on him, thou didst lose\n    Thy best friend, and none was left to plead\n    For the old age of brute fidelity.\n    But fare thee well. Mine is no narrowed creed;\n    And He who gave thee being did not frame\n    The mystery of Life to be the sport\n    Of merciless man. There is another world\n    For all that live and move--a better one!\n    Where the proud bipeds, who would fain confine\n    Infinite Goodness to the little bounds\n    Of their own charity, may envy thee.\u201d\n\nThus does Lamartine, in \u201cJocelyn\u2019s Episode,\u201d beautifully express\nhimself in addressing a faithful and affectionate canine by the name of\nFido:--\n\n    \u201cI cannot, will not, deem thee a deceiving,\n    Illusive mockery of human feeling,\n    A body organized, by fond caress\n    Warmed into seeming tenderness;\n    A mere automaton, on which our love\n    Plays, as on puppets, when their wires we move.\n    No! when that feeling quits thy glazing eye,\n    \u2019Twill live in some blest world beyond the sky.\u201d\n\nNot by man alone have these higher qualities been accorded to the\nbrute. Women have praised the good within the lower animals, and been\nquite as willing to share with them the benefits of an immortal life.\nEugenie de Gu\u00e9rin, a woman distinguished for her devotional piety,\nand an author of no mean repute, was, like the most of her sex, quite\npassionately fond of pets. Hers was a turtle-dove. Its voice was\nthe first to greet her in the morning. There was a pleasure in its\nsoft, gentle cooings, as they fell upon her ear, that sent a sweet\nconsolation to her busy, thinking soul. But the time came at last when\nshe must part with her treasure. The morn dawned bright, an August\nmorning, and the bird was well and happy, but, with the falling of the\nshadows at even-tide, its little life went out. A bitter trial it was\nfor the mistress, who loved with a perfect love her feathered friend.\nWhile wrestling with her intense sorrow, and after she had sincerely\nplaced its mortal remains in a dainty cavity beneath the roses, it\nwas that she wrote: \u201cI have a tolerably strong belief in the souls of\nanimals, and I should even like there to be a little paradise for the\ngood and gentle, like turtle-doves, dogs and lambs. But what to do with\nwolves and other wicked animals? To damn them?--that embarrasses me.\u201d\n\nLess devotional, perhaps, and looking rather to logic than to\nintuition, was the mind of Mrs. Somerville. With such a difference\nin constitution between the two women, we would naturally look for\nthe greatest divergence of opinion upon a matter of this kind, but,\nastonishing to relate, there is noticeable a marked unanimity. Speaking\nof death, and the accompanying change of environing objects, this\ngifted writer, in her eighty-ninth year, says in her \u201cMemoirs\u201d:--\n\n\u201cI shall regret the sky, the sea, with all their beautiful coloring;\nthe earth, with its verdure and flowers; but far more shall I grieve to\nleave animals that have followed our steps affectionately for years,\nwithout knowing for certainty their ultimate fate, though I firmly\nbelieve that the living principle is never extinguished. Since the\natoms of matter are indestructible, as far as we know, it is difficult\nto believe that the span which gives to their union life, memory,\naffection, intelligence and fidelity is evanescent.\n\n\u201cEvery atom in the human frame, as well as in that of animals,\nundergoes a periodical change by continual waste and renovation: the\nabode is changed, not its inhabitant. If animals have no future, the\nexistence of many is most wretched. Multitudes are starved, cruelly\nbeaten, and loaded during life; many die under a barbarous vivisection.\n\n\u201cI cannot believe that any creature was created for uncompensated\nmisery: it would be contrary to the attributes of God\u2019s mercy and\njustice. I am sincerely happy to find that I am not the only believer\nin the immortality of the lower animals.\u201d\n\nTo have given the many opinions that have been expressed by the good\nand wise of the past in favor of the belief that animals received, in\ncommon with man, a particle of the divine essence, and hence became\nimmortal, would have extended this chapter beyond intended limits.\nWe have room for just another witness. No one is better known for\nhis convictions upon this subject than the late Dr. Wood, whose\ncontributions to natural history are known the world over. Speaking of\nthe death of his dog Rory, a creature that manifested in the flesh the\nstrongest affection for his keeper, the Doctor says:--\n\n\u201cI could not believe that an animal which would die of grief, as he\ndied, for the absence of his master, would have his existence limited\nto this present world, and that such intensity of love should terminate\nat the same moment that the material heart ceased to beat.\u201d\n\nWhen we think of the apparent inequality that is everywhere to be\nseen in the lives both of man and beast, we cannot believe, as Mrs.\nSomerville has remarked, that any being was \u201ccreated for uncompensated\nmisery.\u201d Some human beings are endowed with everything that a man can\ndesire--health, strength, riches, accomplishments and capacity for\nenjoyment--while others are destitute of all these accessories to\nhappiness. Putting aside the fact that those whose lots seem to be the\nmost enviable are the least to be envied, we cannot help acknowledging\nthat this disparity does exist, and that the earthly lot of some is\nvery hard, while that of others is very easy. But we must remember\nthat there is taught in the New Testament the grand doctrine of\nCompensation. Paul alludes to this when he remarks that the sufferings\nof this world are not to be compared with the glories of the world to\ncome, and that the troubles, trials and tribulations of this life are\nbut the precursor of that glorified existence where all these things\nwill be utterly unknown. That some such arrangement would be nothing\nmore than justice there can be no question, and that some principle\nof Divine Justice must exist was instinctively known long before it\nwas explicitly declared by the inspired apostle, for references to\nsuch compensation are found throughout the Psalms. Even Job himself,\nsunk as he was in the very depth of afflictions, could say: \u201cThough\nHe slay me, yet will I trust in Him; but I will maintain my own ways\nbefore Him. He also _shall be_ my salvation; for an hypocrite shall not\ncome before Him.\u201d So far, then, as man is concerned, this problem of\napparent inequality is not so difficult of solution, for he knows only\ntoo well that in spite of his hard and bitter earth-life that Divine\nJustice will be more than vindicated in the life beyond the grave\nto which he aspires. But in the case of the lower animals, granting\nthat they have no future existence, what, I ask, becomes of Divine\nJustice? In this land of enlightenment we meet with many animals that\nare treated with the greatest kindness by their masters, and others,\nendowed with capacities that are not a whit inferior to their more\nfortunate brethren, that are treated with the utmost cruelty. While one\nis petted and pampered, another is abused and given over to the pangs\nof hunger and starvation. If there is a future life for these animals,\nit is simply impossible to recognize in their Maker that justice which\nsensible, reasoning man should expect. Such an injustice, as shown by\nthe lives which we have contrasted, would be too flagrant for any human\nbeing to perpetrate, unless such a being was wholly deficient in the\nideas of right and wrong. But on the supposition that these animals\npossess immortal souls, and that there is for them a future life in\nwhich these souls shall be developed to their fullest capacities, then\nthese apparent discrepancies can be reconciled with Absolute Justice\nand Perfect Love. In His dealings with the lower animals, as with\nourselves, God looks to the spiritual rather than the material world,\nand by the means of the one instructs and prepares his pupils for the\nother. With Paul I firmly believe that suffering in the present world\nhas for its object a preparation for and an introduction to a future\nlife, and therefore am thoroughly convinced that any creature capable\nof suffering has in that capacity its passport to an eternal world.\n\nAnother step, that is, the possession of Individuality, as connected\nwith Immortality, now presses forward for consideration. As for man,\ndid he not possess Individuality, no diverseness of management would be\nneeded, for all would be treated in a similar manner. No two faces in\nman are precisely alike, for the very simple reason that no two souls,\nof which the countenance is an indication, are alike. The same rule,\nno matter what may be affirmed to the contrary, holds good among the\nlower animals. To the casual observer no apparent difference can be\ndetected between any two individuals of a flock of sheep, a portrait\nof one equally resembling that of any other. But a shepherd, who\nunderstands his business, will readily distinguish every sheep of his\nflock, as well as describe the mental peculiarities of each individual.\nOne ordinary yellow canary looks just like another yellow canary to the\nordinary vision, while in reality the mental character of each bird is\nimpressed just as strongly upon its countenance as are human qualities\nupon that of man. This quality it is, both in man and beast, that\nimplies a separate treatment for each individual, and becomes a plea\nfor an immortality of life. I am not alone in this idea. It is simply\nastounding how Individuality in the lower animals is ignored by man.\nThe generality of grooms treat all horses as though they were just so\nmany machines turned out of the same mould, and to be treated just like\nmachines. There is in every species a double kind of Individuality. One\nkind there is that is common to the entire species, and then there is\nin addition to this common characteristic another that distinguishes\neach separate being from its fellows. It is the former that makes a\nspecies what it is, and there can be no doubt that each will exist in\nthe future life, and that both may be capable of development. The dog,\nthe horse, the lion and the elephant, and in truth all animals that may\nbe fitted to survive, will be in the other world what they are in this.\nThey will be better animals in that world, just as we hope to be better\nmen, but they will not approach us any nearer than they do in the\nearth-life.\n\nMan does not, as some are foolish enough to claim, lower the condition\nof humanity the least by granting immortality to the lower animals. If\nthey be immortal, as the evidence adduces most strongly shows, there\nis not the slightest use of denial. We cannot shirk a fact, and even\nif we could, we ought not to do it. Such an argument, which seeks to\nelevate man by depreciating his lower fellow-creatures, is not very\ncreditable to humanity. In announcing the belief that the lower animals\nshare immortality with man in the higher world, as they share mortality\nin this, does not claim for them the slightest equality. Man will be\nman and beast will be beast, and insect will be insect, in the next\nworld as they are in this. They are living exponents of Divine Ideas,\nas is evident from the Scriptures and the teachings of science, and\nwill be wanted to continue in the world of spirit the work which they\nhave begun in the world of matter. True it is, as has been asserted,\nthat because a man can transmit his ideas to the lower animals, there\nis evidence that they possess a spirit which is able to communicate\nwith the spirit of man. When a man gives an order to his dog, and is\nobeyed, there is proof that both possess spirits, similar in quality,\nthough differing in degree. We know that to give an order to a plant\nwould be useless and absurd, because the plant has not the spirit that\ncan respond to the spirit of the man in the same manner that a dog\u2019s or\na horse\u2019s spirit can, but the inability so to respond does not prove\nthat the plant is devoid of a spirit. That the spirit of the plant\ndoes respond to the spirit of the man, when it adapts itself to the\nconditions which the spirit of the man has imposed upon it, there can\nbe no question, or the many hundred plants which have been reclaimed\nfrom a state of wildness by a judicious and careful management upon\nthe part of man would have been among the impossibilities of modern\ncivilization. The spirit of man must have entered into the spirit of\nthe plant, and held communion therewith, or the world to-day would not\nhave been blessed with its manifold cereals, fruits and vegetables,\nall of which have been rendered possible for use by the spirit of man\nentering into an understanding with the nature, wants and peculiar\ndispositions of the plants about him. No less are plants living\nexponents of Divine Ideas than worms, insects, beasts and men are,\nand as such living exponents, they are as much needed in the future\nexistence, at least such as are fitted to continue in the spirit-world\nthe work begun in the world of matter, as are the higher forms of\nanimal beings. As plants go a great ways towards making this earth-life\na paradise of beauty and delight, and have ever been associated through\nthe ages with animal life, each of the two great kingdoms of life from\nsimple beginnings attaining to higher and still higher development up\nto the present period--the Era of Mind--it cannot be possible that the\ntwo will have become suddenly divorced when the temporal or earth-life\nis about to pass into the eternal or spirit-life. Heaven would not\nbe Heaven without the plants that we have cultured, and tended, and\nadmired.\n\nConcluding, then, let me say, I claim not for the lower animals the\nslightest equality with man. What I claim for them is a higher _status_\nin creation than is generally attributed to them. I claim for them\na future life, where they will receive a just compensation for the\nsufferings which so many of them have to undergo in this world. Most\nof the cruelties which are perpetrated upon animals are due to the\nhabit which man has, in his exalted opinion of self, of considering\nthem as mere automata, without susceptibilities, without reason and\nwithout the capacity of a future. That I have achieved the purpose,\nwith which I set out, of proving that all life is immortal, or that\nsoul exists in plants and animals, I think must be admitted. If this\ndoctrine of immortality shall have the effect of bringing about a more\nhumane treatment of the animals over which man has been given dominion,\nand thus contribute, be it ever so little, to their well-being and\nhappiness, even in this life, then the object attained will be felt to\nbe a just and worthy recompense for the thought and labor which have\nbeen expended in its support and defence. Not alone are we of the upper\nwalks of being made the possessors of the inner life, but all nature\nshares it in common with us, and love is its expression and the method\nof its action.\n\n\n  THE END.\n\n\n\n\n  Transcriber\u2019s Notes\n\n\n  Inconsistent and unusual or archaic spelling, use of accents and\n  diacriticals, hyphenation and capitalisation have been retained,\n  except as mentioned below.\n\n  Depending on the hard- and software used and their settings used to\n  read this text, not all elements may display as intended.\n\n  Page 7, List of Illustrations: the portrait of the author is not the\n  frontispiece, and is not included in this edition of the book.\n\n  Page 45, \"a single red-eye speck\": should probably read \"a single red\n  eye-speck\".\n\n  Page 73, \"unutterly unable\": as printed in the source document.\n\n  Page 99, Line Below Shows Natural Size: based on the size of the\n  physical book, this would make the insect\u2019s natural size around 27 mm\n  (just over 1\u2033).\n\n  Page 317/318, paragraph starting \"Returning to the philology ...\": a\n  closing quote mark is missing.\n\n  Page 464/465, paragraph starting \"That there is a distinction ...\": a\n  closing quote mark is missing.\n\n\n  Changes made\n\n  Illustrations have been moved out of text paragraphs.\n\n  Some obvious minor typographical and punctuation errors have been\n  corrected silently.\n\n  Lists of illustrations: illustration numbers have been added.\n\n  Page 44: \"quiet unable\" changed to \"quite unable\".\n\n  Page 62: \"plants not natives to this country\" changed to \"plants not\n  native to this country\".\n\n  Page 245: PANDION HALI\u00c6TUS changed to _Pandion hali\u00e6tus_ for\n  consistency.\n\n  Page 264: caption \"Red-eyed Vireo\u2019s Two-Storied Nest With Cow-bird\u2019s\n  egg beneath\" added cf. list of full-page plates.","title":"Intelligence in Plants and Animals: Being a New Edition of the Author's Privately Issued \"Soul and Immortality.\"","tradition":"philosophy-ethics","translated_text":null,"word_count":148848}