1.-^8 



" undoubted fact, attested by all that use it, that the 

 " parents of young birds of all kinds select egg in 

 " preference to all the other ingredients in the soft food 

 " for feeding their young, and if it were injurious they 

 " should instinctively be aware of the fact." 



I am not in a position to comment on the reasons 

 of the Baron's objection to egg, his communication on 

 the subject not being at present within my reach, but 

 surely his critic is speaking more than rashly when he so 

 confidently states what he does about the invariability 

 of selection of egg by the parents of young birds " of 

 all kinds." What about the Gouldian Finch, the 

 Desert Trumpeter- Bullfinch, the Budgerigar, and 

 other Parrakeets, the various Doves, etc., etc. ? 



As to the power of instinctive selection on the 

 part of birds of any particular seed as a curative in 

 disease, or as being least adapted to harm them when 

 diseased, or even as to their instinctive knowledge of 

 what natural foods are likely to harm them, I here 

 say nothing. Birds may have this instinctive know- 

 ledge for all I know, and at one time I certainly 

 shared the popular opinion on this subject ; but one 

 cannot help seeing that considerable modification of 

 this view may be necessary. Human beings — whose 

 quality of instinct is at least on a par with that of the 

 lower animals, and whose order of intelligence is 

 immeasurably higher — cannot always be trusted to 

 select those substances which are best adapted to 

 their needs. The mother, left to her own devices, 

 " instinctively " selects for her infant just those foods 

 which lead up to the familiar verdict of " Death from 

 improper Feeding." And I do not see that we have 

 much to be thankful for that men as a class 



