222 BIRD WATCHING 



because I have found it difficult to account for them 

 in any other way. If it could be made out that 

 animals did really, in some degree, possess this 

 power, it might throw a new light upon many things, 

 and, possibly, explain some difficulties of a larger 

 kind than those which I have called it in to do. To 

 me, at least, it has always seemed a little curious that 

 language of a more perfect kind than animals use has 

 been so late in developing itself; but animals would 

 feel less the want of a language if thought-transfer- 

 ence existed amongst them to any appreciable extent. 

 Assuming its existence, it is amongst gregarious 

 animals that we might expect to find it most de- 

 veloped, and gregariousness has, probably, preceded 

 any great mental advance. Therefore, before an 

 animal reached a grade of intelligence such as 

 might render the growth of a language possible, 

 it would have become gregarious ; and, assuming 

 it then to have a certain power of feeling, and 

 being influenced by the thought of its fellows, 

 without the aid of sound or gesture, it is ob- 

 vious that here would be a power tending to dull 

 and weaken that struggle to express thought by 

 sound, which may be supposed to have slowly and 

 unconsciously led to the formation of a language. 

 Here, then, would be a retarding influence. Still, as 

 ideas communicated in this way would probably be of 

 a general and simple kind, corresponding, perhaps, 

 more to emotions and sensations than definite ideas, 

 the need for more precise impartment would gradu- 

 ally, as mental power became more and more 

 developed, become more and more felt. Then would 

 come language (as spoken), and spoken language. 



