ioo THE WONDERS OF INSTINCT 



You will do nothing of the kind. The light, an irresisti- 

 ble attraction, holds you subjugated against the palisade; 

 and the shadow of the yawning pit, which has but lately 

 permitted you to enter and will quite as readily permit of 

 your exit, leaves you indifferent. To recognize the use 

 of this opening you would have to reflect a little, to 

 evolve the past ; but this tiny retrospective calculation is be- 

 yond your powers. So the trapper, returning a few days 

 later, will find a rich booty, the entire flock imprisoned! 



Of poor intellectual repute, does the Turkey deserve 

 his name for stupidity? He does not appear to be more 

 limited than another. Audubon depicts him as endowed 

 with certain useful ruses, in particular when he has to 

 baffle the attacks of his nocturnal enemy, the Virginian 

 Owl. As for his actions in the snare with the under- 

 ground passage, any other bird, impassioned of the light, 

 would do the same. 



Under rather more difficult conditions, the Necro- 

 phorus repeats the ineptness of the Turkey. When he 

 wishes to return to the open daylight, after resting in a 

 short burrow against the rim of the wire cover, the Bee- 

 tle, seeing a little light filtering down through the loose 

 soil, reascends by the path of entry, incapable of telling 

 himself that it would suffice to prolong the tunnel as far 

 in the opposite direction for him to reach the outer world 

 beyond the wall and gain his freedom. Here again is 

 one in whom we shall seek in vain for any indication of 

 reflection. Like the rest, in spite of his legendary re- 

 nown, he has no guide but the unconscious promptings 

 of instinct. 



