The Problem of the Scoliae 



child is the great generalizer. For him, the 

 feathered world consists merely of birds; 

 the race of reptiles merely of snakes, the only 

 difference being that some are big and some 

 are little. Knowing nothing, he generalizes 

 in the highest degree ; he simplifies, in his 

 inability to perceive the complex. Later he 

 will learn that the Sparrow is not the Bull- 

 finch, that the Linnet is not the Greenfinch; 

 he will particularize and to a greater degree 

 each day, as his faculty of observation be- 

 comes more fully trained. In the beginning 

 he saw nothing but resemblances; he now 

 sees differences, but still not plainly enough 

 to avoid incongruous comparisons. 



In his adult years he will almost to a cer- 

 tainty commit zoological blunders similar to 

 those which my gardener retails to me. 

 Favier, an old soldier, has never opened a 

 book, for the best of reasons. He barely 

 knows how to cipher : arithmetic rather than 

 reading is forced upon us by the brutalities 

 of life. Having followed the flag over 

 three-quarters of the globe, he has an open 

 mind and a memory crammed with reminis- 

 cences, which does not prevent him, when 

 we chat about animals, from making the most 

 crazy assertions. For him the Bat is a Rat 

 that has grown wings ; the Cuckoo is a Spar- 

 in 



