356 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. III. No. 62. 



chick so intelligent as to carry out an act so 

 complex in such a perfect way as it does on 

 the very first occasion as the result of ' teach- 

 ing?' Surely no one will deny that sucking is 

 an instinctive act, yet a newly born mammal 

 sucks only when its lips come in contact with the 

 teat. Is not the case very similar with the 

 chick ? The only difference is that the chick is 

 slower to recognize water than food, but as soon as 

 the beak touches water it drinks and there is no 

 teaching about it. Considering how seldom a 

 fowl drinks, yet pecks all day long at particles 

 of food, it is not surprising that the chick is 

 slower to recognize water (drink) than food. 

 But it is one thing to say that a chick learns to 

 recognize drink and another to affirm that it 

 learns to drink. The process of drinking is 

 quite as perfect as that of eating from the very 

 first, if not more so, for a chick at first often 

 misses what it pecks at and fails to convey the 

 object into its mouth in other cases, though it 

 may touch it. 



The view that instincts are perfect from the 

 first and undergo no development from experi- 

 ence, I believe, after much observation, to be 

 as erroneous as it is ancient. 



Instinct is never, perhaps, perfect at first, and 

 so far as I can see, could not be owing to gen- 

 eral imperfect development in the animal of 

 motor power, the senses, etc. A young puppy 

 will suck anything almost that can pass be- 

 tween his lips, as a chick will peck at any light 

 spot or object if small, be it food or not. My 

 own records abound in observations that amply 

 prove the position taken, and while my experi- 

 ments and observations on birds are in the main 

 in accord with those of Prof. Morgan so far as I 

 know them, I cannot but believe, if I have cor- 

 rectly understood his views as reported at the 

 New York meeting, that he has misconceived 

 or overstated the case under consideration. 



The subject of heredity is too large to enter 

 upon now. I may say, however, that my re- 

 searches in comparative psychology and especi- 

 ally in that part bearing perhaps most closely 

 on the question, psychogenesis, do not incline 

 me to believe any the more in that biological 

 ignis fatuus — Weismannism. 



Wesley Mills. 

 McGiLL Univkesity, Montreal. 



[Professor Morgan's observations agree with 

 those of Professor Mills and others. A chick 

 swallows water instinctively, but must be 

 taught to drink by example or by accident. 

 The chick might die of thirst in the presence 

 of water, as the sight of the water does not call 

 up the movements of pecking at it, as do food 

 and other small objects. The mother hen re- 

 places natural selection, and the action, though 

 continually practiced by the individual, has not 

 become instinctive, because it has not a selec- 

 tive value. Professor Morgan's argument seems 

 to be satisfactory. If actions which occur but 

 once in the lifetime of the individual (e. g. , the 

 nuptial flight of the queen bee) are thoroughly 

 instinctive, and others which are practiced con- 

 tinually by the individual do not become in- 

 stinctive in the race, we can scarcely regard 

 instincts as hereditary habits, but must rather 

 attribute them to variations, fortuitous or due to 

 unknown causes, and preserved by natural, 

 selection. — The Writer of the Note.] 



THE CHANCE OF OBSERVING THE TOTAL SOLAR 



ECLIPSE IN NORWAY. 



Editor of Science: As unusual facilities are 

 being offered to visit northern Norway to ob- 

 serve the total solar eclipse on the 9th of next 

 August, of which many American and English 

 astronomers and tourists will doubtless take 

 advantage, it seems desirable to make known 

 the following data relating to the cloudiness, 

 and the consequent probability of seeing the 

 eclipse there. They have been communicated 

 to me by Prof. H. Mohn, director of the Nor- 

 wegian Meteorological Institute, who prepared 

 them for the Swedish Astronomical Association. 



Vadso, which has been recommended as the 

 most accessible station near the central line of 

 totality and will be the rendezvous of several .^ 

 parties, is situated in Latitude 69° 52' North 

 and Longitude 29° 45' East of Greenwich. 

 According to the British Nautical Almanac, 

 the total phase, lasting Im 47s, here occurs at 

 15h 58m Greenwich time, or 5h 55m local mean 

 time, which is 2 hours after sunrise. The sun's 

 altitude is 15°. 



Professor Mohn writes : For Sydvaranger, 

 the nearest place to Vadso at which meteorolog- 

 ical observations have been made, the amount 



