i8o ANIMAL KINDERGARTEN 



mother had to ' mind ' them and fetch them out when 

 she thought they had had enough of it. They swim 

 naturally when once in the water, and this seems true or 

 all animals, though quite recently a young retriever, 

 bred on a dry and waterless district in the Downs, was 

 found to be unable to swim. A stick was thrown into 

 the Thames for it to fetch. It plunged in, but soon 

 sunk, and though rescued was almost insensible. 



But such instances of instinct in abeyance are rare. 

 More commonly the instincts for self-help and self- 

 protection are early developed, but need direction and 

 discipline. Generally speaking, birds are the quickest 

 to learn when young, as well as the best equipped with 

 original instinct. 





