THE STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE 77 



time, and sinking to the bottom, round themselves off 

 and form a protective coating in which they lie dormant 

 till the rain comes again. It is interesting to note that 

 the longer the period of desiccation, the longer the 

 animals take to revive, and so it seems as if the life 

 retreated more and more, till if desiccation last long 

 enough it may retreat beyond recall. 



In spite of the numerous devices, the odds against the 

 organism are fearful. How many seeds find a suitable 

 germinating place ? How many of the ten million eggs 

 of a cod-fish reach maturity ? Changing currents and 

 hungry mouths account for many. Yet though the 

 average remains fairly constant, we must recognise that 

 fate is cruel to life, and that life has been battered by 

 the shocks of doom to shape and use. 



The struggle is often spoken of as cruel, but men like 

 Alfred Russell Wallace and Ernest Thompson Seton 

 have protested again and again against the idea that 

 has been expressed that the whole of creation is groaning 

 in pain. Animals do not anticipate death, nor do those 

 which die of cold and hunger suffer much. There is some 

 reason for believing that violent deaths are painless and 

 easy, for men who have been mauled by lions and tigers 

 and have survived, have stated that there was no pain 

 and no fear, only a pleasing numbing sensation which 

 obliterated all else. Whether the hunted, the dying, 

 the maimed and the starving animals suffer little actual 

 pain, each one must settle for himself, but in so doing 

 he must remember that the happiness and mutual 

 helpfulness of animals must be balanced against the 

 pain and death that exist. 



