White. — O71 Inherited Instincts in Animals. 279 



feed on the leaves of certain small trees and shrubs, and have 

 the peculiar habit of forcing even those about 7 in. in diameter 

 at the butt to the ground by use of their horns, but more 

 especially by breasting them down. At one place I noticed 

 several acres of an area having every small tree laid over and 

 mostly on the ground, this being all done by wild bulls breast- 

 ing them down. 



Tame cattle escaping to the forest at once become exceed- 

 ingly timid and cunning. At one time in Otago I lost for 

 some time a pair of barren cows which were leaders in my 

 team of working bullocks, and could not find them high or 

 low ; but one day, when looking across the mountain valley 

 (some mile in width), something curious was noticed below a 

 tree at the edge of a small birch forest {Fagus, sp.), which on 

 examination with a glass proved to be the face of Chloe, the 

 smaller of the two cows. The face was then withdrawn and 

 seen no more, but on going to this place next day I saw 

 evidence that the two cows had been in hiding actually within 

 a mile of my house, but being cunning, and remaining among 

 the trees, never coming out on the grass land, except possibly 

 after dark, had remained undiscovered. 



The deep-voiced bellowing of a wild bull in the forest is 

 something quite tragic, the boo'a, boo'a, bo, sometimes begin- 

 ning in deep bass and ending in a shrill trumpet-sound. With 

 three companions I was once travelling through the forest 

 when we heard these deep resounding calls, giving the infor- 

 mation that an old bull on the war-path was ascending the 

 sloping hillside and approaching our position. The younger 

 of the party, whose turn it was for next shot, carried the car- 

 bine, and so was expected to keep valiantly to the front. I 

 myself was bringing up the rear, and must confess that as . 

 these deep roarings came nearer, and seemed to vibrate along 

 the ground from no particular direction, the idea of seeking a 

 safe harbour became predominant, so, rushing off to a large 

 rata-tree, and then peeping from behind the tree-butt to 

 see how the battle waged, I was surprised to see nothing of 

 my two friends, whilst the third was seen hanging to the 

 bough of a tree, and the carbine had fallen to the ground. 

 One of the others (a surveyor) ran for the cai'bine, and took a 

 hurried shot, causing the bull to retreat hurriedly, without my 

 seeing what sort of an animal he was. 



One can well suppose on hearing such sounds that the 

 name "bull " is compounded of bo, the call or sound, and the 

 root- word of Latin ^d-are, to howl — as we also see in Latin 

 ul, ul, a, an owl ; also in our words howl and otvl — vulgar 

 English, tdlet, the screech-owl. The bellowing of some dozen 

 steers or young oxen, heard at midnight when trampling 

 round and pawing up the earth about a bullock-hide which 



