194 ST. KILDA FROM WITHOUT 



pale-coloured patch near the tail which, more or less 

 distinctly marked, is a characteristic of most of the 

 deer tribe, showing conspicuously as they stood with 

 backs towards us in the sunshine. 



In most of the more genuinely wild species, the 

 patch round the tail is more clearly marked than in the 

 red deer, and, if the conclusions of Mr. Wallace are 

 correct, plays an important part in the preservation, at 

 least of the more gregarious families, serving as a mark 

 of identification by others of the same species, and as a 

 signal of alarm when one of the herd scents danger. 



The scud of the rabbit serves, we are told by 

 naturalists, in part at least, the same purpose. It is 

 inconspicuous so long as its owner is quietly feeding 

 in the dusk, but the moment he is frightened and starts 

 post-haste for his hole, it is waved as a white danger 

 flag for the benefit of the many who are pretty sure to 

 be feeding near. 



Altruism clumsy and un-English as the new-fangled 

 word sounds, it fills a gap in the language is, at least 

 throughout the lower orders of creation, the law of 

 Nature. The individual must suffer for the benefit of 

 the species. The white tail of the rabbit is an allegory. 

 Its owner affords a clear shot in the dusk that his 

 brothers may be warned of the danger before it is too 

 late. 



Of deer and of rabbits it. is true, as of men, that 

 ' None liveth to himself, and none dieth to himself.' 



It was tantalising after three years' planning to have 



