NOTE -BOOK OF A NATURALIST. 127 



has broiiglit tlieir prying eyes to look into tlie mystery. 

 We forget that, in their natural state, the first care of all 

 vertebrated animals is to hide their eggs or young. The 

 same may be said of insects, crustaceans, and even of 

 molluscous animals. In proportion as the organization 

 is developed, the sensitiveness to the violation of this 

 principle increases. The quadruped, in a state of morbid 

 irritation, devours its young ; the bird forsakes its nest 

 or destroys the eggs. 



When, however, this great operation of nature is 

 effected in secrecy, and the storge of the parents is un- 

 checked, the vertebrata, and especially the more highly- 

 developed classes, mil risk anything short of life for the 

 protection of their young, and not unfrequently will lay 

 that down in defence of their offspring. 



In cases of extreme urgency, gregarious quadrupeds 



dispose of their young with the most parental care, 



placing them in the middle, so that when the battle 



rages they may have the best chance of safety. Thus by 



the divine law preservation follows generation, and is 



most conspicuously manifested while the offspring is of 



tender age, and unable to provide for its own support. 



Among the mammiferous animals a reciprocity of benefits 



is established, and it may be doubted whether the mother 



or the child feels the greatest enjoyment in imparting or 



receiving the full tide of maternal nourishment. Even 



that grand incarnate fiend. Lady Macbeth, is compelled 



to say, — 



I have given sueke and know 

 How tender 'tis to love the babe that milkes me.* 



Moreover,, a sort of instinctive distributive justice is 

 established in the breast of the mother, when the case 

 requires it. Thus, as a general rule, it will be found 

 that an ewe which brings forth two lambs at a time will 



* Folio. 



