50. 



FIRST CLASS OF THE VERTEBRATED ANIMALS. 



his own motions and those of the Horse. At first, it is only by a great effort of the 

 Mind, that he can perform any one of the requisite movements; afterwards he is able 

 to execute two motions at once, and at length he performs them all simultaneously. 

 But after a little practice, the effort of the mind becomes less necessary, he ceases to 

 pay any attention to the act. In a word, it is no longer an Intelligent action, but it 

 becomes Instinctive. If the Horse make a movement in opposition to the Bridle, 

 instantly the motion of the Horse communicates to the body of its rider that counter- 

 motion proper to restore the equilibrium. This is done also without the slightest re- 

 flection, like the winking of the eye, or the turn of the head when a blow is threatened. 

 The power of Reflection would arrive too late for the desired purpose, and it is there- 

 fore supplied by an action purely Instinctive. 



These differ from the other kind of Instinctive actions only in their origin, being 

 acquired by Habit, instead of being imparted by Nature. 



The transformation of Intelligence into Instinct is capable among many animals of 

 being transmitted to their descendants. We are assured that when Rabbits are kept 

 for a long course of years in places where they are unable to bm-row, they give birth 

 to races which are not naturally disposed to form these subterranean retreats. Leroy 

 informs us that young Foxes, born in countries which are thickly peopled, show, even 

 before quitting their kennel, a much greater degree of cunning and prudence than 

 those living in countries uninhabited by Man, and where they have few enemies to fear 

 or to avoid. Certain races of Dogs are naturally adapted for Hunting, to which they 

 betake themselves Instinctively, and without any training, while other kinds of Dogs, 

 such as the Bull-dog, do not course naturally. More instances of occasional habits 

 being transformed into permanent Instincts, and transmitted as such to their descend- 

 ants, might here be enumerated. But having treated of animals as individuals, we 

 must now view them in those societies which they form among themselves, and trace 

 the various forms of the Social Instinct. 



GENERAL REVIEW OF THE MAMMALIA CONTINtJED. 



The Social Instinct — Occasional attachments of the Unsociable species — Social 

 habits of a herd or troop of leild animals — All the domestic animals are 

 naturally sociable. 



It has long been admitted, that the love of Society is an original principle of the 

 Human Mind, one which precedes all reflection and all knowledge. ** Man," says 

 Montesquieu, *' is born in society, and there he remains." A kind of Instinct over- 

 powers him, and prevails as well in the most savage hordes as among the most culti- 

 vated nations. " Send Man to the sohtude of the desert, he is a plant torn from 

 his roots. The form remains, it is true, but every faculty decays ; the human per- 

 sonage and character alike cease to exist. ' 



This Instinctive feeling is equally prevalent among the lower animals as with Man, 

 and it is equally an original principle. It can neither be regarded as an intelligent phe- 

 nomenon, nor as the result of habit. We find but slight traces of the love of Society 

 in many species which possess a very high degree of inteUigence, and it would seem 

 that the -greatest as well as most remarkable instances of it are found in the lower 

 classes of animals, such as the Insects. 



The proofs that it is not the result of habit are equally convincing. If it pro- 

 ceeded from Education, or from the influence of parents over their young, these 

 causes would act with equal force upon all animals which are dependent for the same 

 period of time upon their parents. The Bears, which tend and bring up their young 

 equally as long as the Dogs, and with the same tenderness and solicitude, ought then 

 to be equally sociable. Yet the Bear is essentially a solitary animal. Further, we 

 find with all Mammalia that the influence of Habit never can prevail over the Instinct 

 of Nature, that the Social Instinct lies dormant in some species of animals, although 

 they have never had an opportunity of exercising it, and that it disappears in those 

 species which are not intended for a permanent state of society, although the utmost 

 care be taken to preserve its existence. The uniform experience of the Menagerie 

 proves that Mammalia, naturally sociable, are always ready to form attachments, al- 

 though brought up from their earliest moments in solitude. M. F. Cuvier observed 

 this fact on comparing Dogs with very ferocious Wolves, both kinds being reared in 

 the strictest solitude. The Social Instinct showed itself in the Dogs as soon as they 

 had recovered their liberty. On the other hand, young Stags, which, in the first 

 years of their lives, formed herds and lived together in society, separated permanently 

 from each other when they had arrived at the age of puberty. The early habits 

 and the social Instinct of the last mentioned animals became equally effaced by time. 



A great number of Mammalia form connexions which are necessarily of a very 

 temporary kind, as they are founded only upon those appetites which disappear when 

 gratified. With these species, the males and females seek each other's society only 

 during the rutting season. The female attends her young with the utmost affection, 

 and defends their lives at the peril of her own, from the moment of their birth ; and 

 this affectionate regard continues on her part as long as her breasts are capable of 

 secreting milk. Also the attachment is reciprocal on the part of the oftspring, as 

 long as they require her to provide for their wants. But as soon as the rutting sea- 

 son is over, the males absent themselves ; as soon as the breasts of the mother cease 

 to secrete milk, and the young can procure their own food, all attachment is at an endj 

 the temporary union is dissolved, and they live apart in the most perfect state of es- 

 trangement. Then the slight trace of social habits which they had contracted in their 

 infancy is effaced, each animal becomes a solitary individual, and shifts for itself. The 

 wq,nts of the one animal form the principal obstacle to a neighbour in satisfying its 

 own. This opposition of interest brings on enmity and war, which is the habitual 

 state of all solitary animals in respect to their own species. Among them, force is 

 the only law. The feebler animal avoids the stronger, and dies in its turn if it can- 

 not find a still more feeble animal to destroy, or another solitude to inhabit. This is 

 the order of things which prevails among all the species of the Cat tribe, among 

 the Martins, the Hyaenas, and the Bears. We find it in aU those animals which have 



no other wants than such as tend either to the preservation of the individual, or t« 

 the continuance of the species; and these passions, so far from being the cause of the 

 Social Instinct, as some philosophers have imagined, are manifestly opposed to all social 

 intercourse. 



The examples which have just been adduced are afforded by animals presenting 

 habits of the most solitary kind. Nature, however, does not pass at once to the tmlj. 

 Social species. Other animals possess the Social instinct in different degrees, and mp-- 

 dified more or less by other instincts. We find traces of a permanent union in that ■ 

 attachment which exists between the Wolf and his female, even beyond the rutting; 

 time. The same pair appear to be remotely connected to each other during thei|^ ^ 

 entire Ufetirae, although they only form an intimate union during the rutting season.— 

 At other times they go about alone, each seeking its own food, and if they be so^ie-/ 

 times seen to hunt in company, it is more from their having the same pursuit tba^ 

 from any Social feeling. The influence of these casual meetings in developing the 

 Social instinct is but shght, and hence the V^plf easily bears a comple^te. separation 

 from his companion. 



The Roe-bucks (^Cervus Capreolus) are an instance of a higher degree of Social 

 Instinct, but still not in its full extent. Among these animals, the male and female 

 continue always together; they share the same retreat, feed in the same pastures, and • 

 run the same chances of fortune. If one of them perish the other does not survive, 

 unless it can find consolation in another individual of a different sex, and in the same 

 solitary condition. But the affection of these animals for each other is exclusive ; 

 they do not differ from the soUtary animals in respect to their young, and they 

 always separate from the latter as soon as their presence is no longer indispensable for 

 their preservation. 



In a union such as that last described, the mutual influence of the two individuals 

 is very Hmited. There is neither rivahy nor subordination, and they acquire habits- of 

 the most perfect harmony. 



It is different with those numerous animals which are naturally sociable, and liva 

 together in bands or troops, although their individual interests are often at variance- . 

 We here see the Social principle in its full extent, and to a degree which may almost 

 be compared to human societies. It is not merely confined to the union of individuals 

 in a family ; but it holds together numerous families, and maintains peace among 

 hundreds of individuals of either sex and of every age. All the individuals of the same 

 herd know each other, and are mutually attached according to the relations which cir- . 

 curastances and their individual qualities have established among them. Harmony 

 reigns until some foreign cause appears. But this mutual feeling exists only for the ■ 

 other individuals of the same herd. A stranger is at first refused admittance, almost 

 always they fall upon him as an enemy, and ill-treatment usually compels him to fly. 

 On the other hand, with every isolated individual the love of society is a want which 

 must be satisfied. At first he follows them at a distance, he gradually approaches, 

 and for the sake of being admitted, gives up his natural will to that point where th& 

 instinct of self-preservation urges him either to defend himself or to fly. 



We may be able to exhibit the state of society which prevails in the troops of wild 

 animals by tracing the life of a young individual from its birth until it becomes the leader 

 of the herd. From the moment that it ceases to be nourished entirely by milk, ansE 

 to venture out of the ring under the conduct of its mother, it begins to recognise tho 

 surrounding localities, its food, and the features of the other members of the herd- 

 The mutual relations of the latter had been previously determined by the incidents of 

 their growth and education, and these same causes exercise a similar influence upon 

 the young animal, whose progress we are now tracing. It can neither fight with the 

 older animals to estabhsh its superiority, nor can it avoid them by deserting the herd; 

 it is not strong enough for the foimer course, and is prevented from the latter by the 

 Social Instinct. Submission is therefore its only resort. Whenever any circumstance 

 arises which places its interest in opposition to that of the others, the most feeble 

 animal is of course sacrificed. In this case, it must either yield to necessity or escape 

 by stratagem. This is, in fact, the situation of all young Mammaha in the middl* 

 of the herd. They are very soon taught both the extent of their liberty and of their 

 strength. If they be in a troop of Carnivora, such as the Wild Dogs, when a prey- 

 has been hunted down, each individual shares in it, according to the authority which . 

 he has been able to exercise over the others. The young animals are left to feed 

 only upon the remains of the feast, or upon such bits as they can carry off by stealth. 

 They attempt to appropriate a few fragments, or to slip in behind the others, happy if , 

 they can escape the blows which the older animals deal unsparingly. In this manner, 

 they feed largely if the prey be abundant, but if scarce they die of hunger. By this 

 continual exercise of authority which the older animals sway over the younger, the 

 obedience of the latter is confirmed, and becomes with them a fixed habit. 



Meantime, the young animals increase in age and strength. Other things being 

 the same, they do not prevail in a battle with those which have preceded them by one 

 or two years, but they are more nimble and vigorous than the younger individuals 

 which have have just made their appearance. If force alone prevailed in these socie- 

 ties, the last -mentioned animals would have to yield obedience to the former, but this 

 does not usually happen. The relations which custom has established are preserved, 

 and if the society be conducted by a leader, it is the oldest animal which possesses the 

 greatest power. His authority, which originated in force, preserves itself by that 

 habit of obedience which the others have acquired through time. His influence ob- 

 tains a kind of moral force, founded as much upon confidence as on fear. It ceases 

 to be contested ; and it is only those single or combined authorities which are in course 

 of being established that meet with opposition, which they always encounter when 

 the object is one that does not admit of being shared. A joint or combined author- 

 ity of several animals requires only an equality of strength, aided by a strong social 

 instinct, and the habit of living together in the same course of life. The wild and 

 sociable animals do not fight except when excited by some violent passion ; and if we 

 except the cases where they have to defend their lives, the possession of their females, 

 or the latter the safety of her young, they feel no mutual rivalry. The absolute 

 superiority of one animal over another is asserted only when it becomes impossible to 

 share the object ; then contests begin, especially during the rutting season. Indeed, 



