THE CONQUEST OF THE DRY LAND 215 



danger, and at this stage they are terribly 

 destructive, for they kill anything and every- 

 thing that they find, whether they need food or 

 not, and this is apparently done to excite the 

 cubs so that they may become mighty hunters 

 in their turn. The cubs remain with their 

 parents till their third year, when they leave 

 the den, but they do not reach their full growth 

 and strength till they are about eight years old. 



When parental care grew strong it became 

 unnecessary to have the multitude of offspring 

 produced, for instance, by fishes, which may 

 liberate millions of eggs. For the growth of 

 parental care secured the continuance of the 

 race with comparatively few offspring. But as 

 the number of children decreased it became 

 possible for the mother to know them all, to see 

 more of them, and to have them longer with her, 

 and all this meant more love. And more love 

 meant more care. So things work round in a 

 beautiful circle. 



Perhaps this argument may seem very 

 difficult, but it is very important. Let us think 

 it over again. When it became possible for 

 animals to take great care of their children, it 

 also became possible to have quite small families 

 without there being any risk of the race losing 



