INC THE: SHEFLANDS 283 
most striking evidence which shows our assump- 
tion to be wrong. In all intellectual and spiritual 
qualities, man, by the laws of evolution, may have 
greatly outdistanced his fellow animals ; but it should 
never be forgotten that in judging of how far this 
has been the case, we—and there is no other court— 
are the most partial and prejudiced judges—dishonest, 
blinded, full of assumptions, delighting to deceive 
ourselves, and miserably vain. 
If female birds are really so apathetic and male 
ones so equally satisfied with any partner they can 
get, it seems difficult to see on what principle the 
two, when paired, remain constant to one another 
during the nesting season, and still more, perhaps, 
why numbers of birds pair for life. Such a state 
of things ought, one would think, to lead to pro- 
miscuous intercourse. But if birds mate by prefer- 
ence and elective affinity, such constancy is what one 
might expect. What we want, however, to settle this 
and all other questions relating to the habits of 
animals is long, close, hard, exhaustive observation— 
real observation as distinct from mere writing, and 
even from good literature. There is wofully little 
of this, in my opinion, and none the less so because 
an impression exists that there is a great deal. 
