Notes and Comments. 83 



■evolution of self-conscious mind, and in which heredity takes 

 part.' He then states (and here, presumably, is the new page 

 in nature study) ' analogous faculties when manifested in 

 animals are vaguely described as " instinct." 



ANIMALS AND TELEPATHY. 



But though those ' gifted with clairvoyance and divining ' 

 appeal to Mr. Newland, and he believes in them, there are 

 very many others who look upon them with very grave sus- 

 picion, so much so that we should not like to think that ' anim- 

 als ' ( in which word our author apparently does not include 

 man), were under such suspicion. He also points out that 

 while man cannot detect truffles underground, a pig or a dog 

 can ; and while a man cannot smell a jack snipe held in his 

 hand, a dog is aware of its presence when fifty yards dis- 

 tant. ' If these performances are due to the sense of smell, 

 they transcend anything we understand of that faculty,' the 

 author adds. And because of the author's inability to under- 

 stand, the dogs and pigs are presumably endowed with powers 

 of divining or clairvoyance. The author follows up his argu- 

 ment with chapters on the Puss Moth, Eggs of Birds, Frogs 

 and Toads, etc. The following is a sample of his argument 

 (pp. 60-61) : — 



A BAD EGG. 



' For the sake of convenience, I have used the expression 

 '" a bird is aware of an addled egg." Perhaps it would be more 

 correct to say that, so far as the bird, an unreasoning creature, 

 is concerned, an effete egg is non-existent ; there being no 

 life in it, all connection between the bird and the egg ceases ; 

 thus the bird ignores the egg because, mentally, she is unaware 

 of it. Hence, notwithstanding its perfect outward resemblance 

 to the others, the pied flycatcher takes no notice of the rotten 

 egg, but leaves it in the nest along with the chips and other 

 rubbish ! " No, Mr. Newland can endow his animals with 

 divining, clairvoyance, telepathy, or psychometry, but we 

 prefer " instinct," whatever it means ; often it is largely 

 common sense. 



MESOZOIC CYCADS. 



At a recent meeting of the Geological Society of London, 

 Dr. Marie C. Stopes gave an account of some recent researches 

 on Mesozoic ' Cycads ' (Bennettitales), dealing particularly 

 with recently-discovered petrified remains which reveal their 

 cellular tissues in microscopic preparations. To make the 

 significance of the various fossil forms clear, Dr. Stopes first 

 showed some lantern-slides of living Cycads, and then pointed 

 out that it was in their external features and in their vegetative 

 anatomy only that the fossil ' Cycads ' were like the living 

 forms ; the most important features, the reproductive organs, 



1917 Mar. 1. 



