5 2 [January 



SOME NEW BOOKS 



Wild Teaits in Tame Animals 



Wild Traits in Tame Animal.s : being some familiar studies in Evolution. By 

 Louis Robinson, M.D. 8vo. pp. xii. and 329, illustrated. Edinburgh and 

 London : Blackwood & Sons, 1897. Price, 10s. 6d. nett. 



Darwin made a great point of the insight afforded into the habits 

 of their bold ancestors by many traits exhibited by our domestic 

 animals, such as the scratching of tree-stems by cats to clean or 

 sharpen their claws, the turning round of a dog before settling to 

 slumber on the hearthrug, and the pawing of snow by horses. And it 

 has been the object of the author of the work before us to hunt 

 further instances of such ancestral traits, both as regards bodily and 

 mental habits. 



The author has a pleasant and attractive way of expressing him- 

 self, so that he is likely to draw a much larger circle of readers than 

 many writers of popular science. And some of his inductions are 

 well founded and of considerable interest. For instance, he tells us 

 that from the quiet unaggressive way it takes its food, it may be 

 inferred that a cat is naturally a solitary animal, whereas, on the 

 other hand, a dog must be a gregarious creature, forced to get its food 

 by snatching it as quickly as possible in order to prevent its being 

 seized by a rival. And, although it is perfectly obvious, we do not 

 recollect to have seen it expressed elsewhere that " recognition-marks," 

 like the white under surface of the tails of fallow deer and rabbits are 

 actually injurious to the individual, and advantageous only to the 

 tribe as a whole. 



If all the inductions and theories of the author were as well 

 founded as the above, there would be little or no scope for destructive 

 criticism. But there are some, which, to put it mildly, are more than 

 doubtful. As an example may be cited the supposed mimicry of 

 snakes by cats, both as regards coloration and hissing. This appears 

 to be based on a certain resemblance, so far as coloration is concerned, 

 between an ocelot when coiled up and a boa. And it is argued that in 

 early times all cats were small and coloured somewhat like the ocelot. 

 There are many objections to this startling generalisation, but it will 

 suffice to say that the ocelot type is almost certainly not the original 

 feline coloration. Again, as regards the ancestry of our European 

 domestic cats, it is seriously argued that the tabby, grey, and tortoise- 

 shell-sandy breeds are derived from as many unknown extinct species. 

 This obviously implies a want of acquaintance with what constitutes 

 a species, and the great colour variability inherent in domesticated 

 animals. If such a theory was admitted, what would become of 

 Darwin's conclusions as to the common ancestry of our domesticated 

 pigeons ? But the most astounding suggestion of all is that the 

 tortoise-shell-sandy breed is derived from a wild species of which the 

 females inhabited scrub, and the males open sandy districts. Is there 

 any evidence of a wild animal of any kind in which the two sexes 

 have such dissimilar habitats ? 



