IN FIELD AND WOOD 



creatures avoid poisonous plants and poisonous 

 fruits. Animals in domestication are sometimes 

 poisoned by strange plants or fruits, because they 

 have lost, through domestication, the self-directing 

 wit of the wild creatures. 



With man his appetite is not a safe guide any 

 more than it is while he is still a baby. 



in 



Animal intelligence differsf rom human intelligence 

 in being below the plane of consciousness. It is a 

 manifestation of the intelligence that pervades the 

 universe. Animals know not what they do; they act 

 without forethought or self-knowledge. They are 

 wise as nature is wise; they are reasonable as the 

 trees and plants are reasonable. 



The plants adapt means to an end as definitely as 

 man does; they clothe themselves against the cold; 

 they protect themselves against the heat; they de- 

 velop hooks and springs and wings to scatter their 

 seed; some of them perfect curious mechanical de- 

 vices to secure cross-fertilization; they swim, they 

 fly, they walk, they catch a ride, to disperse them- 

 selves over the earth; they develop bladders to float 

 by, tendrils and suckers to climb with, gum and var- 

 nish against the rain; they use anchors, they employ 

 traps, they store food; indeed, the vegetable king- 

 dom holds the original patent for many of our de- 

 265 



