THE WAY OF THE WILD 65 



the most inconspicuous color. For example, the white color of 

 the albino deer, shown on page 102, would be against him, as it 

 would be in favor of the polar bear with his different surround- 

 ings. It means the bird or beast most successful in hiding or 

 in eluding its pursuers, and everything which helps in this will 

 help to make the " fit " more perfect and thereby to more 

 certainly insure survival. 



With plants it means the fastest-growing stem which will 

 most certainly reach the sun, or the deepest-running root which 

 alone will secure moisture in time of drought ; it means the most 

 spiny covering which protects best against herbivorous animals, 

 the most showy flowers or the most penetrating odors which best 

 assure fertilization, or the most toothsome and conspicuous seeds 

 which best attract bird or squirrel to carry off and bury, some 

 portion of which is never recovered. These are the circum- 

 stances that determine the fitness to survive. 



On careful study it will be seen that every species has some 

 natural trait or character, which, in a state of nature, enabled 

 it to survive, else it would not be here now ; and of this 

 species the individuals that possess this character in the great- 

 i est perfection are the ones that best withstand the rigors of 

 natural selection. Species and individuals not possessing such 

 natural advantages at once become extinct, as do those whose 

 advantage is rendered worthless by some sudden change in 

 the surroundings. 



For example, the natural advantage of the birds generally is 

 their aerial flight and their powers of rapid reproduction ; with 

 the yellow butterfly it is his offensive taste ; with the caterpillar 

 it is his hairy covering, which, like the spines of the porcupine, 

 are unpleasant to the attacking party ; with the cat tribe it is 

 the prehensible claw and the silent tread ; with the antelope it 

 is his wonderful scent and his fleetness ; with the pig it is his 

 long snout with its remarkable rooter ; with the elephant it is 

 his trunk ; with the beaver it is his tooth and his tail ; with the 

 snake it is his venom and his incurving teeth ; with the sheep, 



