ANIMAL AND PLANT INTELLIGENCE 



While I am telling tales on old Brindle, let me 

 mention another point. Most farmers and country 

 people think that the "giving down" or "holding 

 up" of the milk by the cow is a voluntary act. In 

 fact, they fancy that the udder is a vessel filled with 

 milk, and that the cow releases it or withholds it just 

 as she chooses. But the udder is a manufactory; it 

 is filled with blood, from which the milk is manu- 

 factured while you milk. This process is controlled 

 by the cow's nervous system. When she is excited 

 or in any way disturbed, as by a stranger, or by 

 the taking away of her calf, or any other cause, the 

 process is arrested and the milk will not flow. The 

 nervous energy goes elsewhere. The whole process 

 is as involuntary as is digestion in man, and is dis- 

 turbed or arrested in about the same way. 



Why should we not credit the child with reason 

 when it is learning to walk, and with a knowledge 

 of the law of gravity? See how carefully it poises 

 itself on the feet and adjusts itself to the pull of the 

 invisible force. It is a natural philosopher from 

 the cradle, and knows all about the necessity of 

 keeping the centre of gravity within the base if it 

 would avoid a fall ! But there is probably less cal- 

 culation in all this than there appears to be, since 

 Huxley tells us that a frog with most of its brain 

 removed will keep its position on the top of the 

 hand while you slowly turn it over. It, too, feels 

 the pull of gravity and knows all about the impor- 

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