THE CAT. 255 



opening remains through which her mate feeds 

 her. This is purely a defensive measure, and 

 has nothing to do with any jealous tyranny on 

 the part of the cock or any moral short-com- 

 ings in the hen, as some people have supposed. 

 Now a hornbill is by no means one of the 

 most helpless of birds, and the hen sitting upon 

 her nest and presenting her formidable beak 

 at any meddling intruder should scarcely need 

 any further protection. I do not know what 

 particular enemy the brooding hornbill most 

 fears, but it is evident from the elaborate pre- 

 caution taken that the risk she guards aeainst 

 is by no means a trifling one. 



Now, one finds that among almost all warm- 

 blooded animals a dread of snakes is an in- 

 herent instinct. You may take what order of 

 the animal kingdom you please, and it would 

 be easy to show that many representatives have 

 an innate and intense horror of anything which 

 has the appearance of a serpent. This fact is so 

 generally known and admitted, that it is scarcely 

 necessary to insist upon it. Even when animals 

 are in the habit of attackino- and killing snakes, 

 the presence of such an enemy arouses feel- 

 ings of intense excitement in which anger and 



