4 PARKER— THE PROBLEM OF ADAPTATION. [April 2z, 



and yet in its breeding activities needs only relatively few males, a 

 condition which when viewed as a whole seems to be a misadjust- 

 ment rather than a close adaptation to the actual needs of the species. 

 The measure of this misadjustment would be the proportion of idle 

 bulls naturally present. Unfortunately, the commercial activities 

 of the past in exploiting the herd for its fur prevent the possibility 

 of accurate statement on this point, but the presence of idle bulls 

 in the herd today is enough to show that this class under natural 

 conditions would be abundantly represented. 



The fur seal, however, is not the only one of the higher animals 

 to show this misadjustment in the ratio of males to females. A 

 prosaic example of the same kind is seen in the barn-yard fowl. 

 Here the sexes hatch in nearly equal numbers, there being perhaps 

 a slight predominance of females, but in maturity the cock holds 

 sway over a flock of hens. This condition is almost exactly parallel 

 with that of the fur seal except that it occurs under domestication. 

 Nevertheless it has probably been inherited from the wild stock, for 

 Finn states that though the red jungle fowl will live quite happily 

 with a single hen, this is not universal and harems are often found. 

 The bull of the American elk or wapiti, as my friend Dr. J. C. 

 Phillips tells me, also forms, during the breeding season, a harem of 

 cows from which he will drive away other bulls of his own kind, 

 much as the fur seals do. Dr. Phillips further informs me that 

 there are among the higher vertebrates many other instance of that 

 particular form of polygamy in which one male during the breeding 

 season naturally associates with many females. Such examples are 

 found among some of the larger antelopes, wild sheep, and wild 

 goats, and among certain birds such as the black grouse, capercaillie, 

 and wild turkey. Although in these several species, the propor- 

 tions of sexes at birth, so far as I am aware, are not definitely 

 known, they probably follow the rule of approximate equality so 

 common among many of the other higher animals and thus in reality 

 illustrate much the same condition as that seen in the Alaskan fur 

 seal. 



Among the lower animals, particularly the insects, exceptional 

 ratios in the sexes have long been known, the classic example of 

 the honey bee being the most commonly quoted. Here a few 



