148 UNSOLVED PROBLEMS. 



way- finding of blind men in the crowded, noisy streets of our 

 large cities. The blind beggars of London, for instance, find 

 their way safely through all its intricacies, apparently by 

 sound and touch, while they recognise each other probably 

 by voice-sounds (Greenwood). In these men certain senses, 

 such as hearing and touch, apparently become preternatu- 

 rally acute by high cultivation and constant use. 



It may safely be affirmed that, equally in the lower ani- 

 mals and in man, whether civilised or savage, in the Mongol 

 or Red Indian, white settler or blind man, the frequently 

 remarkable power of way- finding depends in great measure, 

 if not entirely, upon intelligence, observation, and experi- 

 ence. That in many cases of way -finding, observation of 

 locality or landmarks is necessary is shown by such facts 

 as that birds engaged in long flights make them by day, 

 resting at night, and that rooks, losing their way in fog, 

 wait as prudently as men would for a clear and light atmo- 

 sphere to resume their journey (Nichols) . Way-finding occurs 

 in the most intelligent, observant, and experienced animals, 

 and in men whose intelligence, observation, and experience 

 have been exercised in special directions ; and there are no 

 instances of its occurring under opposite conditions in unin- 

 telligent or stupid, inexperienced, or young and unobservant 

 animals or men. But it cannot yet be affirmed that in no 

 case are other faculties or acquisitions involved than intelli- 

 gence, observation, and experience, or that their operation 

 is sufficient to explain satisfactorily all cases or kinds, or all 

 the phenomena, of way-finding in the lower animals. For 

 there are cases, immediately to be considered in connection 

 with the wonderful phenomena of migration, that cannot be 

 properly explained on the supposition that ordinary intelli- 

 gence, observation, and experience are alone involved or 

 applied. 



Migration in various animals illustrates certain special 

 kinds or forms of way-finding or way-making as well as of 

 way-losing, and it also serves to illustrate a number of other 

 phenomena of an even perhaps more puzzling kind. 



The swallow and other birds make their way to the same 

 nesting localities year after year over thousands of miles of 



