EARLY DAYS AND EARLY WAYS 25 



the capture of its prey. Dogs, it will be noticed, differ 

 from cats in that their play is more often a rehearsal, 

 not of the tribal habits of procuring food, but of personal 

 contests, of duels to the death. 



But the finishing touches to this education do certainly 

 seem to be imparted by direct instruction from the parents. 

 Cats certainly train their young in the art of mouse-killing ; 

 young lions are as certainly trained to slaughter, accom- 

 panying their parents in the search for food till long after 

 they are full grown, and receiving therefrom constant 

 instruction in aU the arts of seeking cover, the final spring, 

 and the methods of dispatching the victim. 



Unfortunately, of this aspect of the life of young 

 animals we know practically nothing : almost all the 

 facts so far collected have reference to domesticated 

 animals ; but enough has been seen of wild creatures to 

 show that centuries of domestication have not destroyed 

 their primeval instincts in this direction. 



