The Story of a Grctysquirrel 



How does a young chicken learn to 

 peck? It has a strong inborn readiness 

 to do it, but we know that that impulse 

 must be stimulated at first by seeing the 

 mother peck, or it will not function. In 

 an incubator it is necessary to have a 

 sophisticated chicken as a leader, or the 

 chickens of the machine foster-mother 

 will die, not knowing how to feed. Nev- 

 ertheless, the instinct is so strong that a 

 trifle will arouse it to take control. Yes, 

 so small a trifle as tapping on the incu- 

 bator floor with a pencil -point will tear 

 the flimsy veil, break the restraining bond 

 and set the life-preserving instinct free. 



Like this chicken, robbed of its birth- 

 right by interfering man, was Bannertail 

 in his blind yielding to a vague desire to 

 hide the nuts. He had never seen it 

 done, the example of the other nut-gath- 

 erers was not helpful — was bewildering, 

 indeed. 



[35] 



