CHAPTER II 

 PARENT AND OFFSPRING 



THE parental feeling is only of slow and gradual 

 growth ; there is scarcely any evidence of its existence 

 among the lowest animals. They show a complete 

 absence of care for, and indifference to, the offspring. 

 Thus there ensues an enormous waste of life, eggs 

 being cast adrift to all the ravages of their surround- 

 ings. This seems hard to understand; but Nature 

 is reckless and can afford to be lavish, since she deals 

 with such masses of individuals. As Tennyson has 

 said: " So careful of the type she seems, so careless 

 of the single life." For according to Darwin's theory 

 of evolution, there takes place a natural weeding- 

 out among the individuals of any species, only the 

 few the fittest for their surroundings being re- 

 tained for the continuance of the race. This weeding- 

 out process applies to all ages, and starts even with 

 the eggs. 



1. PARENTAL CASE IN ANIMALS. 



Among the insects, not to go any lower in the animal 

 scale, most species lay their eggs in places suitable for 

 their later development ; but after this their parental 

 solicitude is at an end, and they know no more about 

 their offspring. In fact, some insects die as soon as 



III 



