124 FAMILY CHARACTERISTICS. 



over the world, will find it difficult to explain 

 the tenacity of such characters, and their recur- 

 rence and repetition under circumstances that 

 seem to preclude the possibility of any commu- 

 nication, on any other supposition than that of 

 their creation in the different regions where they 

 are now found. We have much yet to learn from 

 investigations of this kind, with reference not 

 only to Families among animals, but to nation- 

 alities among men also. I trust that the nature 

 of languages will teach us as much about the 

 origin of the races, as the vocal system of the 

 animals may one day teach us about the origin 

 of the different groups of animals. At all events, 

 similarity of vocal utterance among animals is 

 not indicative of identity of Species ; I doubt, 

 therefore, whether similarity of speech proves 

 community of origin among men. 



The similarity of motion in Families is another 

 subject well worth the consideration of the nat- 

 uralist : the soaring of the Birds of Prey, the 

 heavy flapping of the wings in the Gallinaceous 

 Birds, the floating of the Swallows, with their 

 short cuts and angular turns, the hopping of 

 the Sparrows, the deliberate walk of the Hens 

 and the strut of the Cocks, the waddle of the 

 Ducks and Geese, the slow, heavy creeping of 

 the Land-Turtle, the graceful flight of the 

 Sea-Turtle under the water, the leaping and 



