NATURE'S LAWS 319 



seen to have the germs of parental feeling. The 

 stickleback is the best-known example, but here 

 in Guiana we have several fishes which show 

 paternal care. As far as can be gathered it is 

 the male fish which makes the hollows in which 

 the female lays her eggs ; then he drives away 

 the mother and remains on guard until the little 

 ones come forth ; it is also the father which 

 sometimes shelters the young in his mouth. 



We are so accustomed to think only of maternal 

 care that we hardly appreciate the fact that the 

 father is conspicuous in many cases. The Su- 

 rinam toad and a frog (Nototrema) are examples ; 

 in the case of the first the male places the eggs on 

 the back of the mother and in the second in a 

 dorsal pouch. Wild cats, including jaguars and 

 tigers, are monogamous ; both father and mother 

 assist in bringing up the cubs, and will fight any 

 intruder that comes near them. We all know 

 how the domestic cat watches over her kittens, 

 but unfortunately she has been corrupted under 

 unnatural conditions, and the male takes no part 

 in this solicitude. 



Now we come to the strongest motive for 

 fighting. We have seen it in the attack of beasts 

 of prey and the natural defence of their victims, 

 we now see it under two forms as connected 



