44 IN THE ACADIAN LAND. 



of years living forms have become more complex 

 and more intelligent, until man emerges from 

 the process, and asks, "From whence have I 

 come and whither am I going ? " One may fairly 

 hold, in view of this fact, that to become more 

 intelligent is advancement for any animal ; to 

 become less intelligent is to go backward and 

 fall out of line, and lose rank in the march of 

 life. Compared with a weasel, or a mink, or a 

 fox, or a crow, our rabbit is an idiot. All of 

 these creatures live on concentrated food, and 

 they are busy in search of it, with their senses 

 alert. This hare family are great for multiply- 

 ing and replenishing the earth. Two and three 

 litters in a season, and several in a litter, is the 

 regular practice. If it were not for their ene- 

 mies they would soon drive us from our farms. 

 If these animals were creatures of more brains 

 there would be fewer young. The power of 

 reproduction is gauged and proportioned to the 

 dangers that are sure to make an end of many 

 of them before arriving at maturity. A codfish 

 produces a half-million eggs and only two es- 

 cape to replace the parents. The number of 

 eggs indicates the perils that beset them. English 

 rabbits, not hares, were taken out to Australia 

 where nature had not produced any. They 

 were innocent pets, but they soon spread abroad, 



