The Making of Species 



ing dogs are very apt to come to grief where 

 cobras abound, as there is something very alluring 

 to them in the sight of a large snake when it sits 

 up nodding and snarling ; and it is often difficult 

 to come up in time to prevent the occurrence of 

 irreparable mischief." 



Colonel Cunningham also states that many 

 ruminants have a great animosity to snakes, and 

 are prone to attack any that they may come 

 across. 



We may therefore well be sceptical as to the 

 value of intimidating attitudes to those creatures 

 which are in the habit of striking them. 



MIMICRY 



In a work of this kind it is neither possible 

 nor necessary to consider in great detail the 

 mass of evidence which has been advanced in 

 favour of the theory of mimetic resemblance. 



Chapters vii. and viii. of Professor Poulton's 

 Essays on Evolution contain an up-to-date state- 

 ment of the facts in favour of the theory. Pro- 

 fessor Poulton believes that in all cases mimetic 

 resemblance is the result of the action of natural 

 selection. 



He admits that there is no direct evidence in 

 its favour, but asserts that "the facts of the 

 cosmos, so far as we know them, are consistent 

 with the theory, and none of them inconsistent 

 with it" (page 271). 



226 



