230 ELEMENTS OF SCIENCE 



But the cat also possesses instincts. The action by 

 which the kitten first sucks the nipple and swallows the 

 thence extracted nutriment are instinctive actions. 

 They are necessary, definite actions which have never 

 been learned but are performed prior to all experience. 



Every one knows that kittens more or less resemble 

 one or other of their parents. This transmission of 

 parental characteristics is called heredity, and is evi- 

 dently a property of the parents which transmit their 

 likeness. Unusual peculiarities, such as additional toes 



FIG. 45. 



THE RIGHT WHALE. 



and claws, are characters which also tend to be 

 inherited. 



Such is the cat, and a variety of beasts lions, tigers, 

 leopards, lynxes, &c. are formed almost entirely in the 

 same manner, save as regards size. Other beasts differ 

 from it in greater or lesser degrees, till we come to 

 such forms as bats and monkeys, whales and porpoises. 

 A monkey or ape is formed much like a cat, but the 

 proportions and shape of the paws and toes are very 

 different, and the same is the case, though to a less 

 degree, with the limbs. The teeth, also, are very 

 different. They are suitable for eating fruits, not 

 for cutting and dividing flesh. There are various other 

 orders of beasts, all of which resemble the cat more 



