HOW ANIMALS GET HOME. 213 



faculty why such an instinct should have been planted in 

 the breast of animals like dogs and horses in their wild con- 

 dition ? They had no homes to which they could become 

 attached as they do now in their artificial life ; or when they 

 did settle during the breeding season in any one spot, either 

 they did not quit it at all, wandered only for a short dis- 

 tance, or else the females alone remained stationary, while 

 the males roved as widely as usual. There would seem to 

 be no call, therefore, for such an instinct in the wild animal. 

 That they may always have had, and do now possess, a very 

 acute sense of direction, enabling them to keep the points 

 of the compass straight in their minds far better than we 

 can, I am willing to admit ; but I doubt whether the evi- 

 dence proves a nearer approach to a homing " instinct" 

 than this. On the contrary, I believe, as I have already 

 hinted, that beyond this the performances of animals in the 

 line of our inquiry are the result of accurate observation 

 and very retentive memory. That all these animals now 

 and then do miss their bearings, get " turned around " and 

 wholly lost, is true, and is a fact to be remembered in this 

 discussion. 



In the case of the birds, observation by sight is sufficient. 

 They rise to a height whence they can detect a landmark, 

 and flying thither, catch sight of another. The experience 



