NATURAL HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICA 



The young of the smaller birds, especially the 

 perching birds, eat great quantities of food, and their 

 rate of growth is correspondingly rapid. Visiting a 

 nest one day I found the young ones to be tiny, blind, 

 bare, and helpless little mites. Fourteen days later 

 I peeped into the nest, and away flew the brood in all 

 directions into the bushes. Applying the same rate 

 of growth to a human baby we would find that if it 

 were 7 lbs. in weight when born, it would be about 

 140 lbs. when twelve days old. 



Wise Nature has provided against young birds being 

 overfed. The throat of the nestling is very sensitive, 

 and when the stomach is ready to receive more food, 

 the throat nerves will instantly respond with a simul- 

 taneous contraction of the gullet. If there is no 

 response, the parent bird withdraws the morsel and 

 thrusts it into the gaping mouth of another nestling. 

 In the human baby the gastric or stomach nerves are 

 so delicately adjusted that when too much food is 

 swallowed, or if the stomach is not in a fit condition 

 to digest it, a reflex motion is set up, and the contents 

 are cast out. Through constant overfeeding, the 

 human stomach soon loses its natural sensitiveness and 

 the surplus food, if digested, forms fat. If undigested 

 it generates various poisons, and slowly but surely 

 undermines the constitution and brings about a variety 

 of ills which cause premature death. 



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