THE STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE. 211 



combine to select a suitable spot. Then each in succession 

 lying flat on his belly, from the top of the bank, slides 

 swiftly down over the snow and plunges into the water. 

 The others follow while he crawls up the bank at some 

 distance, and running round to the sliding place, takes 

 his turn again to perform the same evolution as before. 

 The wet running from their bodies freezes on the surface 

 of the slide, and so the snow becomes a smooth gutter of 

 ice. This sport the old trapper had frequently seen 

 continued with the utmost eagerness and with every 

 demonstration of delight, for hours together." 



And it is not always all play, or all enjoyment, on 

 the part of the lower animals; on the contrary, there is 

 frequently actual business conjoined, as the Notes of a 

 Naturalist interestingly instruct us (see the Cornhill for 

 February 1889, pp. 178-9). 



" He (the jackdaw) flies about with the rooks arid feeds 

 with them ... it is most amusing to see the busy, 

 methodical way in which he sets to work to rid an 

 animal (a sheep) of its insect tormentors. All over its 

 back and sides he hops and clings, the sheep standing 

 quiet all the time, and knowing perfectly well that what 

 the bird is doing is for its benefit. One will frequently 

 see horned cattle, sheep, and horses feeding on the same 

 land, and four birds busy feeding in their .midst rooks, 

 jackdaws, starlings, and wagtails, to give 'the alarm on the 

 approach of any object." I daresay there may be those 

 who will point to signs of battle here ; but, surely, what 

 would frighten the cattle would only be a man or a dog, 

 while as for actual hostilities again, they are confined to 

 the insects ! Of course, such quotations as the above 

 might be indefinitely increased. No doubt they are 

 absolutely opposed to this internecine struggle for life, 

 which is intimated to us. No doubt also they will 

 illustrate the industry that is named of compilation ! 



