14 BIRDS AND MAN 



at a later date : in that case the second impression 

 does not obHterate, or is not superimposed upon the 

 former one ; both remain as permanent possessions 

 of the mind, and we may thus have several mental 

 pictures of the same species. 



It is the same with all minds with regard to the 

 objects and scenes which happen to be of special 

 interest. The following illustration will serve to 

 make the matter clearer to readers who are not 

 accustomed to pay attention to their own mental 

 procesess. When any common object, such as a 

 chair, or spade, or apple, is thought of or spoken of, 

 an image of a picture of it instantly comes before the 

 mind's eye ; not of a particular spade or apple, but 

 of a type representing the object which exists in the 

 mind ready for use on all occasions. With the 

 question of the origin of this type, this spade or 

 apple of the mind, we need not concern ourselves 

 here. If the object thought or spoken of be an 

 animal — a horse let us say, the image seen in the 

 mind will in most cases be as in the foregoing case 

 a type existing in the mind and not of an individual. 

 But if a person is keenly interested in horses generally, 

 and is a rider and has owned and loved many horses, 

 the image of some particular one which he has known 

 or has looked at with appreciative eyes will come to 



