26 NO STRUGGLE NO SELECTION 



But there are very many carnivorous species in 

 Nature's haunts, and to generalise from these few 

 species, and include in your generalisation every 

 carnivorous family, appears to me to be a very un- 

 scientific method of proceeding. Again, in regard to 

 prolific herbivorous species, you have mentioned only 

 three, the rabbit, the guinea-pig, and the sow, all 

 domestic species, whose males you say devour their 

 young. Yet you aver without any reservation that 

 in the case of all prolific herbivorous species and they 

 are very numerous the instinct that prompts the male 

 to devour the young is universal. I do not think, sir, 

 you have gone very far to prove your case or to 

 justify your large generalising." 



" Far enough," I said in reply, " to justify me in 

 making a provisional hypothesis, and in asking 

 naturalists to give it some consideration ; for if they 

 can certify from actual observation that there are 

 some carnivorous species, the males of which remain in 

 the lairs with the females at the time of their delivery 

 without devouring the young, my hypothesis falls to 

 the ground ; while, on the other hand, if they find no 

 instances of this, they may succeed, and I think they 

 would surely succeed, in finding other carnivorous and 

 prolific herbivorous species, beyond those I have men- 

 tioned, of which the male, when opportunity offers, 

 invariably devours his offspring. You will at least 

 admit in favour of my generalisation that it renders 

 the existing facts and phenomena of feral life in- 

 telligible, and reconciles them with reason and witli 



