128 Permanence and Evolution. 



the " desert colour " must be injurious to the 

 wild asses who exhibit it ; though it is generally 

 supposed to have been given, or acquired, as a 

 protection against wild beasts. So, in case we 

 had reason to suppose that the earliest animals 

 were omnivorous, it could easily be explained 

 how carnivorous and herbivorous animals were 

 evolved ; for, on the principle of division of 

 labour, it is obvious that a stomach adapted to 

 digest either flesh or vegetables, must do its 

 work less well than one of a more exclusive 

 character ; while if, on the other hand, primitive 

 animals appeared to be either purely carnivorous, 

 or purely herbivorous, why, then, the matter 

 would be still plainer. What an advantage would 

 any strain of beasts have who developed ca- 

 pacity for a more varied diet What additional 

 resources they would have in time of casual 

 scarcity. How much better their chances of 

 survival, and how wedded must any one be to 

 obsolete prejudices, who refused to see a truth 

 so obvious. 



