TRANSMUTABLE. 137 



Our old friend Parus major, or large tomtit, 

 is accused of killing birds, a statement which, 

 with all deference, 1 beg to say I do not believe. 

 That he will crack a yew-seed, or a haw-stone, 

 I know full well, because I have often seen him. 

 But what of that? He knows there is a kernel 

 inside, and that cracking it by repeated knocks 

 with his beak, which was given him for the 

 purpose, will open it and secure the prize! 



But the next illustration of diversified action 

 nearly took away my breath. In North America 

 bears are sometimes seen swimming on the sur- 

 face of the water with their mouths open catching 

 insects. Ergo ! says Mr. Darwin, "if there were 

 always plenty of insects, I can see no difficulty 

 in a race of bears being rendered by natural 

 selection more and more aquatic in their structure 

 and habits, with larger and larger mouths, till 

 a creature was produced as monstrous as a whale !" 



This certainly beats any whale story I ever 

 heard. 



The next instance of diversified habit which 

 Mr. D. thinks favours his view, is that of North 

 American woodpeckers, which feed on fruit, others 

 which chase insects, and one which is found 

 on the plains of La Plata, where no tree grows, 

 and of course it never climbs one. Mr. Darwin 

 does not mention the species, nor whether its 

 feet were like those of other woodpeckers. Our 

 common green woodpecker, which is formed like 

 the rest of its family, with peculiar feet for 

 climbing trees, and a long tongue, which it in- 



