May 1, 1886.] 



♦ KNOWLEDGE ♦ 



205 



ence. and less able to combine for the construction of nervous 

 and muscular tissues than the animal. 



But since the function creates the ortjan, and where 

 function is not localised there L"? no vaiiation of parts, life 

 probably began in formless combinations having no visible 

 distinction of parts. And as the cell is the first step in 

 organisation, it is the fundamental structure of living things, 

 " ic marks only where the vital tides have been and how 

 they have acted," the lowest organisms consisting of one cell 

 only, and the higher consisting of many cells, which, in- 

 creasing in complexity or diversity of foini adapted to their 

 diSerent functions at later stages, ar'e modified into the 

 special tissues, with resulting unlikeness in pai-ts or organs, 

 of which all plants and animals are comjiosed. Every varia- 

 tion in structure is therefore due to cellular changes, and . 

 every living thing is propagated in one way or another by I 

 cells, by,their self-division or multiplication ; or by gemmation, j 

 i.e. J throwing off buds : or by the union of like cells ; or, in ' 

 more complex mode, by the spontaneous or aided union of j 

 unlike cells, as the sperm-cell of the male with the germ-cell i 

 of the female, giving rise to a seed or egg from which grows 

 offspring mere or less like its parents. The importa,nce of 

 embryology in explanation of the laws of development wiU 

 be dealt with later on. 



In both plant and animal the cell-contents usually, 

 although here again exceptions occur in some of the lowest 

 organisms, exhibit a rounded body called the nucJerui, which 

 itself often incloses another body called the nucUolv.s, the 

 functions performed by both of which in cell-development are 

 obscure. That even thus much is known of cell structure 

 may awaken wonder when it is remembered that we are 

 dealing with bodies for the most part beyond the range of 

 our unaided vision. Bacon truly says that " the complexity 

 of nature exceeds the subtlety of man " ; the infinite divisi- 

 bility and indivisibility of matter is appjrent in the organic 

 as in the inorganic ; and size counts lor little ; the oak and 

 pine, the acacia and the rose, are lower in the scale of 

 life than the thistle and the daisy ; the elephant is 

 1.50,000 times hea^"i3r than the mouse, but the egg of the 

 one is nearly as large as that of the other, and it has been 

 calculated that if one molecule in the nucleus of the ovum 

 of a mammal were to be lost in every second of time, the 

 whole would not be exhausted in seventeen years. 



These molecules are the sufficing material media of trans- 

 mission of resemblances, both striking and subtle, between 

 parent and offspring; and of the vast sum- total of inherited 

 tendencies, good or bad, which are the product of no one 

 generation, but which reach us charged with the gathered 

 force of countless ancestral experiences. 



Bom into life '. man grows 

 . Forth from bis parents' stem. 

 And blends their bloods, as those 

 Of tlieirs are blent in them ; 

 So each new man strikes root into a far fore-time. 



ANIMAL WEATHER-LORE IN AMERICA. 



By Charles C. Abbott, M.D. 



X reference to the dog, I have heard the fol- 

 lowing pretentious stanza, which has now 

 taken its place among our nursery rhymes, 

 where, indeed, it is best fitted to remain : — 



When drowsy dogs start from their sleep. 



And bark at empty space, 

 'Tis not a dream that prompts them to. 



But showers come on apace. 



Here we have essentially the same inference as in that of the 

 rhyme about cows, but it is not to be explained away so 



readily.. Such acts as described cannot be attributed to 

 annoyance by flies, for they too often emerge from dark 

 quarters, where they have been unmolested ; but the all- 

 important fact must not be overlooked that such acts are 

 not confined to summer. If they were, the electrical theory 

 might be advanced with some confidence. From what I 

 have noticed in such dogs as I have owned, the habit of 

 dreaming — which in the rhyme is denied to be the explana- 

 tion — is probably the key to the mystery. Again, statistics 

 show that the correspondence between such habits and 

 sudden showers is only what we should expect in the way 

 of coincidences. Dogs certainly are not to be considered as 

 reliable barometers. 



The same may be said of the domestic cat. Its move- 

 ments have all been carefully noted, and the yawning, 

 stretching, scratching, and waving of the tail appear to have 

 been accredited with some special meteorological significance. 

 Careful observation has not confirmed any of these im- 

 pressions. Table-legs are scratched time and again by Tom 

 or Tabby, and no rain falls for twenty-four or forty-eight 

 hours. They stretch themselves after a nap, lick their sides 

 and w-ash their faces with the same regularity in midwinter 

 as in midsummer, yet it is only showers, and not snow-storms, 

 which these actions are supposed to predict. 



-When in summer the signs fail, my country friends con- 

 veniently forget the remark they have made ; but, if the day 

 does prove showery, mj- non-combative neighbours take 

 much delight in repeating over and over again, " I told thee 

 so," with a suggestive emphasis, showing how much, like 

 other people, they love to gain a victory, if open warfare can 

 be avoided. 



The only weather-rhyme referring to a cat that I have 

 heard, and which is essentially the same as that about dogs, 

 runs thus : 



When Tabby claws the table-legs. 

 She for a summer shower begs. 



That is, begs it will huiry, with no doubt in her mind of its 

 possibly disappointing hei-. 



The weather-lore of the commoner wild animals is of 

 much more general interest. Weather-saj'ings referring to 

 animals do not appear to have been so numerous as are those 

 referring to birds. I have been able to learn of but three 

 examples. In reference to minks and weasels I have heard 

 it .said, and possibly others may be familiar with this mystic 

 rhyme : 



When storm-winds blow and night is black, . 



The farmer may a pullet lack : 



But, if the moon is shining clear, 



Xo mink or weasel dares come near. 



This involves an interesting phase of the life-hLstory of 

 these animals ; for while they probably can see a little when 

 it is quite dark, and are safely giiided bj' the sense of smell, 

 nevertheless, the experience of trappers about home proves 

 that they do wander about during moonlight nights. In- 

 deed, on careful inquiry, it seems that the trapper generallj' 

 anticipates better success during the moonlit nights than 

 when it is veiydark. I strongly suspect that the truth lies 

 in the fact that, when it is dark and stormy, the watchful 

 house-dog is not on the alert, and thus the cunning weasel 

 or mink is free to raid upon the poultry-house and feast upon 

 the pullet that it seizes. How my neighbours will take to 

 this explanation I can only surmise. Like other people, 

 thev fight vigorously for the opinions they have cherished 

 through life. Tlie musk-rat and grey squirrels have given 

 rise to many trite sayings, and have long been looked upon 

 as weather-prophets, but that they are nothing of the sort 

 I have elsewhere * endeavoured to show. 



* " Rambles about Home," p. 73, D. Appletou & Co., Xew York, 

 1884. 



