﻿WITH 
  THE 
  DOMAIN 
  OF 
  THE 
  INORGANIC 
  61 
  

  

  is 
  adapted 
  to 
  put 
  on 
  a 
  garment 
  of 
  invisibility 
  again.-t 
  cer- 
  

   tain 
  backgrounds; 
  the 
  hedgehog 
  is 
  adapted 
  to 
  meet 
  the 
  win- 
  

   ter 
  by 
  hibernation; 
  the 
  peacock 
  is 
  adapted 
  to 
  captivate 
  tlm 
  

   peahen; 
  the 
  mother 
  mammal 
  is 
  delicately 
  adapted 
  for 
  the 
  

   prolonged 
  ante-natal 
  life 
  of 
  the 
  offspring; 
  and 
  the 
  so-called 
  

   'egg-tooth' 
  at 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  a 
  young 
  bird's 
  bill 
  is 
  adapt- 
  <! 
  to 
  

   the 
  single 
  operation 
  of 
  breaking 
  the 
  egg-shell 
  and 
  so 
  mi 
  

   throughout 
  the 
  whole 
  animal 
  kingdom, 
  for 
  the 
  point 
  of 
  thi- 
  

   random 
  list 
  is 
  but 
  to 
  remind 
  us 
  that 
  (with 
  a 
  few 
  very 
  inter- 
  

   esting 
  exceptions) 
  every 
  detail 
  of 
  structure 
  and 
  function 
  

   may 
  be 
  regarded 
  as 
  adaptive. 
  As 
  the 
  late 
  Professor 
  Weis- 
  

   mann 
  used 
  to 
  say, 
  " 
  When 
  you 
  take 
  away 
  all 
  the 
  adapta- 
  

   tions 
  from 
  a 
  whale, 
  there 
  is 
  not 
  much 
  left." 
  To 
  illustrate 
  

   subtlety, 
  however, 
  let 
  us 
  pause 
  for 
  a 
  moment 
  over 
  a 
  partic- 
  

   ular 
  case. 
  

  

  The 
  illustration 
  we 
  select 
  concerns 
  the 
  parental 
  care 
  in 
  

   a 
  remarkable 
  New 
  Guinea 
  fish 
  called 
  Kurtus. 
  Each 
  egg 
  

   has 
  an 
  envelope 
  of 
  over 
  a 
  hundred 
  twisted 
  threads, 
  coiled 
  

   like 
  the 
  rubber 
  filaments 
  in 
  a 
  cored 
  golf-ball. 
  When 
  the 
  

   eggs 
  are 
  laid 
  the 
  filaments 
  unwind 
  automatically 
  and 
  unite 
  

   in 
  strings, 
  which 
  combine 
  into 
  a 
  cylindrical 
  cord. 
  Thus 
  the 
  

   eggs 
  are 
  bound 
  together, 
  forming 
  a 
  twin 
  cluster 
  like 
  a 
  

   double 
  bunch 
  of 
  onions 
  such 
  as 
  we 
  see 
  the 
  Breton 
  boys 
  carry- 
  

   ing 
  in 
  the 
  streets. 
  But 
  what 
  is 
  the 
  bunch 
  to 
  be 
  fastened 
  to 
  ? 
  

   The 
  answer 
  is 
  almost 
  incredible. 
  At 
  the 
  breeding 
  season, 
  

   Prof. 
  Max 
  Weber 
  tells 
  us, 
  a 
  bony 
  process 
  on 
  the 
  top 
  of 
  the 
  

   skull 
  of 
  the 
  male 
  fish 
  grows 
  forwards 
  and 
  downwards 
  like 
  

   a 
  bent 
  little 
  finger, 
  and 
  forms 
  eventually 
  a 
  ring 
  or 
  'eye 
  7 
  . 
  

   But 
  before 
  the 
  hook 
  becomes 
  an 
  eye 
  the 
  cord 
  of 
  the 
  donbl.- 
  

   bunch 
  of 
  eggs 
  is 
  somehow 
  passed 
  into 
  the 
  loop 
  and 
  attach* 
  d, 
  

   and 
  the 
  male 
  fish 
  goes 
  about 
  with 
  his 
  prospective 
  family 
  

   fastened 
  to 
  the 
  top 
  of 
  his 
  head. 
  The 
  female 
  shows 
  no 
  trace 
  

  

  