I20 Darw'ni and Ro)iiant's dealt with. 



brought about by man and operate on creatures 

 under man's control and manipulated by hinv 



The great question with regard to the cuckoo and 

 its utter loss of the brooding instinct is this — what 

 were the changes or influences which, at a certain 

 definite time, led it to abandon its brooding propen- 

 sity ? — its former habit of brooding being, as we saw 

 already, proved even now occasionally by reversions 

 to this very habit, and, unlike the tame fowls, it has 

 to seek otherwise an attainable means of securing the 

 same end. The tame fowls did not do this ; appar- 

 ently leaving it to man w^hom they better served by 

 " everlasting laying " to look to this, only wonderfully 

 attesting this original instinct by in middle life or age 

 reverting to primary habit ; while the cuckoos having 

 no man-manipulator to trust to, have themselves to 

 look out for some way to secure the same end. The 

 grand question which Mr. Darwin does not at all 

 face or even try to face is, what in the case of the 

 cuckoo were these changed conditions or influences ? 

 There must have been such — whether we can in any 

 way trace them or not, conditions and influences in 

 which general operations of men may have had a 

 share, nay, must have had a share, since, nothing is 

 more clear than that no step — not the slightest, 

 towards " improving " the land, etc., etc. — can be 

 taken without eff'ects far-reaching on certain classes 

 of creatures. 



Now, in the case of the cuckoo more definitely 

 than perhaps anywhere else, you can trace out the 

 process by which a latent element of reason, giving 

 rise to very marked invention and resource in that 

 bird, has come in to enable it so far to meet and make 



