142 HEPouT— 1873. 



they liad neTer seen and never before lieard. This tliey did, struggling through 

 grass and over rough ground, when not yet able to stand on their legs. Again, 

 chickens that from the lirst had been denied the use of their ej'es by having hoods 

 drawn over their heads while yet in the shell, were, while thus blind, made the 

 subjects of experiment. These, when left to themselves, seldom made a for- 

 ward step, their movements were round and round and backward ; but when 

 placed within five or six feet of the hen-mother, they in answer to her call became 

 much more lively, began to make little forward journeys, and soon followed her by 

 sound alone, though of com-se blindly. Another experiment consisted in rendering 

 chickens deaf for a time, by sealing their ears with several folds of gum-paper 

 before they had escaped from the shell. These, on having their ears opened when 

 two or three days old, and being placed within call of the mother, concealed in a 

 box or on the other side of a door, after turning round a few times ran straight 

 to the spot whence came the first sound they had ever heard. Clearly of these 

 chickens it cannot be said that sounds were to them at first but meaningless sen- 

 sations. 



One or two observations favourable to the opinion that animals have an Instinc- 

 tive knowledge of their enemies may be taken for what they are worth. When 

 twelve days old, one of my little ^/'o^e^cs, running about beside me, gave the pecu- 

 liar chiiT whereby they announce the approach of danger. On looking up, a 

 hawk was seen hovering at a great height overhead. Again, a young hawk 

 was made to fly over a hen with her first brood of chickens, then about a 

 week old. In the twinkling of an eye most of the chickens were hid among grass 

 and bushes ; and scarcely had the hawk touched the ground about twelve yards 

 from where the hen had been sitting, when she fell upon and would soon have 

 killed it outright. Even more striking evidence was furnished by a young 

 turkey. When ten daj's old, it heard the voice of the hawk for the firsttime, and just 

 beside it. Like an arrow from the bow it darted off in the opposite direction, and 

 crouched in a comer, remained for ten minutes motionless and dumb with fear. 

 Out of a great number of experiments with chickens and bees, though the results 

 were not uniform, yet in the vast majority of instances the chickens manifested 

 instinctive fear of these sting-bearing insects. 



But to return to examples of instinctive skill and knowledge, concernino- which 

 I think no doubt can remain. A very useful instinct may be observed in the e.arly 

 attention that chickens pay to their toilet. As soon as they can hold up their 

 heads, when only from four to five hours old, they attempt dressing at their wings, 

 that, too, when they have been denied the use of tlieir eyes. Another incontestable 

 case of instinct may be seen in the art of scraping in search of food. Without any 

 opportunities of imitation chickens begin to scrape when from two to six days old. 

 Most frequently the circumstances were suggestive, at other times, however, the 

 first attempt, which generally consisted of a sort of nervous dance, was made on a 

 smooth table. The unacquired dexterity shown in the capture of insects is A'ery 

 remarkable. A duckling one day old, on being placed in the open air for the first 

 time, almost immediately snapt at and caught a fly on the wing. Still more 

 interesting is the art of catching flies peculiar to the turkey. When not a day 

 and a half old, I observed a young turkey, which I had adopted while yet in 

 the shell, pointing its beak slowly and deliberately at flies and other small insects 

 without actually pecking at them. In doing this its head could be seen to shake 

 like a hand that is attempted to be held steady by a visible efibrt. This I recorded 

 when I did not understand its meaning ; for it was not until after that I observed 

 that a turkey when it sees a fly settled on any object steals on the unwary insect 

 with slow and measured step, that when sufficiently near it advances its head very 

 slowly and steadily until within an inch or so of its prey, which is then seized by 

 a sudden dart. In still further confirmation of the opinion that such wonderful 

 examples of dexterity and cunning are instinctive and not acquired, maybe adduced 

 the significant fact that the individuals of each species have but little capacity to 

 learn any thing not found in the lives of their progenitors. A chicken was made 

 from the first and for several months the sole companion of a young turkey ; yet it 

 never showed the slightest tendency to adopt the admirable art of catching flies 

 that it saw practised before its eves every hour of the day. 



