Observations on Young Mammals. 105 



upon it, " and at once made the best of its way to the 

 river." One would like confirmation of this observation, 

 but it is not readily obtainable. There is an oft- 

 quoted statement of Spalding's of which confirmation 

 should not be hard to get. He put a new-born pig 

 in a bag, keeping it there for seven hours, and then 

 placed it outside the sty, ten feet from its mother. It 

 ran straightway to the sty, went along the outside of it, 

 and tried to get to the sow, though to reach her it had to 

 struggle under a bar, a feat it successfully accomplished. 

 Spalding supposed that it was guided by the maternal 

 grunting ; but, as Prof. Preyer points out, guidance by the 

 sense of smell is not excluded. If Spalding be correct, 

 there is shown an accurate sensing of the direction from 

 which the sound proceeded. 



I have consulted those who have opportunities for 

 observing, and asked them to repeat the observation. 

 But, beyond some strong expressions of scepticism, I 

 have so far obtained no decisive evidence. Mr. Mann 

 Jones tells me that " an accurate observer (ex-agricul- 

 turalist, sawyer, miner, and poacher) says, * The word 

 "walks" should not be used for the young of the pigs 

 we know in Devon. Until thirty-six to forty-eight hours 

 after birth, they at first sprawl, and later on stagger, when 

 they move.' This," adds Mr. Jones, "accords with my 

 own observations on the breeds he refers to." Other breeds 

 seem to be more active soon after birth. Confirmation of 

 Spalding's experiment is, however, desirable. 



Now, when a guinea-pig, startled by such a sound as 

 a low whistle, runs off rapidly within a few hours of birth, 

 we have a case of instinctive response well-nigh in per- 

 fection. That there is not similar behaviour on the part 

 of the puppy and the kitten is, in large measure, due to their 

 incomplete physical development. As this development 



