KfFTH DAT.] INSTINCTS. 139 



instantly utters a shrill suppressed cry ; the chickens, 

 though born that day, and searching round her with 

 glee and animation for the food which her feet were 

 providing for them, instantly appear as if thunder- 

 struck; those close to her crouch down and hide 

 themselves in the straw; those further off, without 

 moving from the place, remain prostrate ; the hen 

 looks upward with a watchful eye; nor do they 

 resume their feeding till they have been called again 

 bv the cluck of their mother, and warned that the 

 danger is over. 



PHYS. — I certainly cannot explain the acquaintance 

 of the little animals with the note of alarm of the 

 mother, except upon the principle you have adopted ; 

 and I fairly own, that their selection of animal food 

 appears likewise instinctive ; yet it is possible, that 

 tins selection may depend upon some analogy between 

 the smell of these animal matters and the yolk, winch 

 was for a long time their food in the egg. 



ORN. — I find I must multiply examples. Examine 

 young ducks which have been hatched under a hen : 

 they no sooner quit the shell, than they fly to their 

 natural element, the water, in spite of the great 

 anxiety and terror of their foster-parent, who in vain 

 repeats that sound to which her natural children are 

 so obedient. Being in the water, they seize insects of 

 every kind, winch they can only know from their 



