THE FOOD OF ANIMALS. 47r 



I consider the stories about wolves hunting in packs as mere 

 inventions for the nursery, to keep cross children quiet. That these 

 animals may join on the road, and arrive at the same point, is a 

 casualty at best, and seldom to be witnessed ; for their united vora- 

 cious appetites would soon have the effect of rendering federal pur- 

 suit null and void, by the utter extermination of the object. A 

 fructivorous flock, however numerous at first, would eventually fall a 

 prey to a carnivorous one, as the last would always be on the look- 

 out to appease its hunger on the slaughter of the first ; and both 

 being inhabitants of the same district, they could not fail to come 

 in contact for obvious reasons, and then the weaker would be con- 

 sumed ; after which, if the carnivorous animals remained in com- 

 pany, mutual slaughter would be the consequence, or individual 

 death through starvation. When the wolf has business at the sheep- 

 fold, he goes alone. " Incustoditum captat ovile lupus." 



As food is evidently the staff of animal life, and its chief enjoy- 

 ment, we ought not even to hazard a conjecture that Providence 

 would doom carnivorous animals, as we do our poor, to die for want 

 of it; and which most assuredly would be their ultimate destiny did 

 they seek support in congregated packs. But were carnal food as 

 widely diffused and as easy of access as is the herbaceous, we might 

 possibly observe the phenomenon of carnivorous animals enjoying a 

 hearty meal together without a single growl or angry look. 



Peaceable is the conduct of the bull, the ram, the horse, and the 

 goat, when grazing on the flowery pasture. But widely different 

 would be the demeanour of a wolf, a fox, a foumart, and a jackal, 

 on the prostrate carcass of a wild boar. Still, the former have as 

 much spirit, and as many fighting propensities at a certain season of 

 the year, as the latter. Scarcity of food then, and its circumscribed 

 position, cause these to feed in strife, whilst its abundance and ex- 

 tended distribution enable those to graze in peace. In a word, 

 harmony exists where Nature " epulas sine csede et sanguine prae- 

 bet ;" and discord, where " sanguine sanguis alatur." 



Food has a surprising effect on the animal system ; and in its 

 quality, use, and quantity, man rational man, may take a salutary 

 lesson from the irrational favourites which flock around his home- 

 stead. The Spaniards tell us that other people's cares destroy the 



