CHIIvDHOOD 



of the wild rabbit and the wild cat are quivering, 

 shrinking things that seem to feel in their bones 

 that man's hand is that of an enemy. 



The young plover barely free from the shell 

 will squeeze itself flat on the earth in abject terror 

 at the approach of the disturber, whilst the chick 

 of the barn-door fowl will stroll casually over 

 your boot in its search for stray morsels. 



Possibly it might be argued that the young 

 plover had already had the advantage of parental 

 tuition, for we have seen that the mother's in- 

 fluence may extend to the chick even when in the 

 egg. 



In this case, the evidence of Miss E. L. Turner 

 a lady ornithologist of high scientific attainment, 

 may be quoted. She describes how certain shel- 

 duck's eggs were hatched out under a bantam. 

 Directly the young were clear of the shell, they, 

 one after another, ran for their lives and were 

 lost. Now it seems plain that if the bantam had 

 imparted any preliminary advice to the young 

 that she was vicariously bringing into the world, 

 it would have been to the effect that man was 

 quite a decent food-supplying animal, and there 

 was no necessity at all to steer clear of him. 



From these and many other instances that 

 might be cited we feel bound to infer, that when- 

 ever the fear of man is deeply implanted in the 

 parental heart, the quality is directly transferred 

 to the offspring, without the intervention of 

 anything that can be called education. In regard 

 to Professor Thomson's view that a chick hatched 

 in an incubator has no inborn knowledge of the 

 call note of its race, we think further experiments 

 may be made with advantage. 



We have reared many birds from ' ' wild " 

 eggs under canaries ; and the harp-Uke note of the 

 grey linnet, the pipe of the bullfinch, and the 



123 



