BRITISH BIRDS. 131 



('Hist. British Birds,' vol. iii. 1845, p. 585) that a Gull was not able to 

 swallow a small bird which had been given to it. The Gull paused for a 

 moment, and then, as if suddenly recollecting himself, ran off at full speed to 

 a pan of water, shook the bird about in it until well soaked, and immediately 

 gulped it down. Since that time he invariably has had recourse to the same 

 expedient in similar cases." 



This anecdote appears in the 1st edition of Yarrell ; and it had been better 

 left out. It is stated of the Lesser Black-backed Gull. To me, who have 

 seen Gulls constantly duck their food, ever since I began to keep such birds, 

 this very common incident is by no means sufficient to warrant the inference 

 attempted. I have watched one of the larger sort catching a sparrow, and 

 seen him, having killed it, wash his prize as described ; but the same Gull 

 always did so, in the blindest and most useless manner, with any little scrap 

 of food, as do his comrades. Therefore the " since that time he invariably has 

 had recourse to the same expedient'' is most true, because before that time, 

 unless he was different from all the rest, he did the same, as did his ancestors, 

 time out of mind. This little transaction, quoted to prove the intelligence 

 and reasoning of Gulls, quantum valeat, shows the reverse to a person know- 

 ing their habits. Errors will inevitably creep into a great work, such as Mr. 

 Darwin's ' Descent of Man;" but he is always a most honest observer. 



Bewick says in his preface, " When these books shall become obsolete, 

 may some more able naturalist arise equally inclined to produce better to 

 supply their place." William Yarrell was the very man. I was much struck, 

 however, with the truth of the following passage : — " Of all kinds of dog- 

 matism the materialistic is the most dangerous, because it denies its own 

 dogmatism, and appears in the garb of science (but it professes to rest on 

 fact, when it is but speculation), and because it attempts to annex territories 

 to the domain of natural science before they have been fairly conquered." — 

 P. H. Pye-Smith (from Virchow's ' Gesammelte Abhandlungen,' p. 18), 

 Nature, Nov. 12, 1874. 



