WAYS OF NATURE 



struction of their young, and how can we account 

 for their concerted action ? These are difficulties not 

 easily overcome. A more rational explanation to 

 me is this, namely, that the extreme dryness of the 

 woods — nearly two months without rain — drove 

 the little frogs to seek for moisture in their spring 

 haunts, where in places a little water would be pretty 

 certain to be found. Here they were holding out, 

 probably hibernating again, as such creatures do in 

 the tropics during the dry season, when the rains 

 came, and here again they sent up their spring 

 chorus of voices, and, for aught I know, once more 

 deposited their eggs. This to me is much more hke 

 the ways of Nature with her creatures than is the 

 theory of the frogs' voluntary return to the swamps 

 and pools to start the season over again. 



The birds at least show Uttle or no ,wit when a 

 new problem is presented to them. They have no 

 power of initiative. Instinct runs in a groove, and 

 cannot take a step outside of it. One May day we 

 started a meadowlark from her nest. There were 

 three just hatched young in the nest, and one egg 

 lying on the ground about two inches from the nest. 

 I suspected that this egg was infertile and that the 

 bird had had the sense to throw it out, but on ex- 

 amination it was found to contain a nearly grown 

 bird. The inference was, then, that the egg had 

 been accidentally carried out of the nest some time 

 when the sitting bird had taken a sudden ffight, 

 232 



