SCIENTIFIC SIDE-LIGHTS 



Analogy 



Animal* 



organization, may be destined henceforth to 

 throw brighter illumination into its very re- 

 cesses. DANIEL WILSON Anthropology, ch. 

 1, p. 1. (Hum., 1885.) 



163. ANIMALS, ARCTIC Commonly 

 White The Tree-frequenting Sable Is 

 Brown Raven Tweeds No Protective Color. 

 Whenever we find arctic animals which, 

 from whatever cause, do not require protec- 

 tion by the white color, then neither the cold 

 nor the snow-glare has any effect upon their 

 coloration. The sable retains its rich brown 

 fur throughout the Siberian winter; but 

 it frequents trees at that season and not 

 only feeds partially on fruits or seeds, but 

 is able to catch birds among the branches of 

 the fir-trees, with the bark of which its 

 color assimilates. Then we have that thor- 

 oughly arctic animal, the musk-sheep, which 

 is brown and conspicuous; but this animal 

 is gregarious, and its safety depends upon 

 its association in small herds. It is there- 

 fore of more importance for it to be able to 

 recognize its kind at a distance than to be 

 concealed from its enemies. . . . The 

 common raven, a true arctic bird, . . . 

 always retains its black coat. . . . The 

 raven is a powerful bird and fears no enemy, 

 while, being a carrion-feeder, it has no need 

 for concealment in order to approach its 

 prey. WALLACE Darwinism, ch. 8, p. 130. 

 ( Hum. ) 



1O4. 



Once Dwelt 



Southern Europe A Colder Climate in 

 Geologic Times Reindeer at Foot of 

 Pyrenees. The northernmost part of Nor- 

 way and Sweden is at this day the southern 

 limit of the reindeer in Europe, but their 

 fossil remains are. found in large quantities 

 .in the drift about the neighborhood of Paris, 

 and quite recently they have been traced 

 even to the foot of the Pyrenees, where their 

 presence would, of course, indicate a climate 

 similar to the one now prevailing in north- 

 ern Scandinavia. Side by side with the re- 

 mains of the reindeer are found those of the 

 European marmot, whose present home is 

 in the mountains, about six thousand feet 

 above the level of the sea. The occurrence 

 of these animals in the superficial deposits 

 of the plains of central Europe, one of which 

 is now confined to the high north, and the 

 other to mountain-heights, certainly indi- 

 cates an entire change of climatic condi- 

 tions since the time of their existence. 

 AGASSIZ Geological Sketches, ser. i, ch. 8, 

 p. 210. (H. Mi & Co., 1896.) 



165. ANIMALS AS DISTRIBUTERS 

 OF SEEDS Hooks and Spines for Seed-dis- 

 persal. An idea of the important part 

 played by these various hooks and spines in 

 the dissemination of seeds may be gained by 

 reading the following paragraph written by 

 the German botanist Kerner: 



" About ten per cent, of all the flowering 

 plants possess fruits and seeds which are 

 dispersed by means of clawed or barbed 



processes. The part of the plant which is 

 provided with these structures hooks on to 

 the hairs, bristles, or feathers of any bird 

 or other animal that happens to come into 

 contact with it. The consequence is that it 

 is torn away and carried off by the animal. 

 This act of depredation is, of course, not in- 

 tentional on the part of the creature that 

 performs it; on the contrary, such append- 

 ages are a source of discomfort, and are got 

 rid of as soon as possible. But in many 

 cases this is not accomplished until a con- 

 siderable distance has been " traversed. 

 WEED Seed-travelers, pt. iii, p. 51. (G. & 

 Co., 1899.) 



166. ANIMALS, EXISTENCE OF, DE- 

 PENDENT ON PLANTS The Plant the Me- 

 diator between Animal and Mineral. The 

 very existence of animal life, to take an- 

 other case of broad economy, is possible 

 only through the mediation of the plant. 

 No animal has the power to satisfy one 

 single impulse of hunger without the co- 

 operation of the vegetable world. It is one 

 of the mysteries of organic chemistry that 

 the chlorophyll contained in the green parts 

 of plants, alone among substances, has the 

 power to break up the mineral kingdom and 

 utilize the products as food. Tho detected 

 recently in the tissues of two of the very 

 lowest animals, chlorophyll is the peculiar 

 possession of the vegetable kingdom, and 

 forms the solitary point of contact between 

 man and all higher animals and their sup- 

 ply of food. Every grain of matter, there- 

 fore, eaten fey man, every movement of the 

 body, every stroke of work done by muscle 

 or brain, depends upon the contribution of a 

 plant, or of an animal which has eaten a 

 plant. DRUMMOND Ascent of Man, p. 240. 

 (J. P., 1900.) 



167. ANIMALS FIXED TO THE 

 EARTH LIKE PLANTS Sponges Rooted to 

 the Sea-floor. [There is one division that 

 consists of] animals that remain perfectly 

 fixed to the bottom or are capable only of 

 creeping or crawling over the rocks and 

 sand, such as the sponges, hydroids, seden- 

 tary tunicates, gasteropods, most lamelli- 

 branchs, and many Crustacea. This portion 

 of the fauna [of the sea] has been called 

 the benthos. HICKSON Fauna of the Deep 

 Sea, ch. 3, p. 53. (A., 1894.) 



168. ANIMALS GIVE WARNING OF 

 EARTHQUAKE Alarm of Dogs, Cats, and 

 Horses Sea-birds Flying Inland. A study 

 of the warnings furnished by animals is 

 also interesting. It is said that several 

 of the natives in Caracas possess oracular . 

 quadrupeds, such as dogs, cats, and jerboas, 

 which anticipate coming dangers by their 

 restlessness. Before the catastrophe of 

 1812, at Caracas, a Spanish stallion broke 

 out from its stable and escaped to the high- 

 lands, which was regarded as the result of 

 the prescience of a coming calamity. Before 

 the disturbances of 1822 and 1835, which 



