34 The Cannibal Habit in the Male 



them in the earliest stage of existence. Nature pro- 

 duces her offspring in numbers that appear unneces- 

 sarily large for a very practical and important end, 

 namely, in the event of any sudden calamity falling 

 upon the species to provide the means of speedily 

 recovering its numbers, while the waste is of no 

 moment and entails no suffering or misery. We do not 

 exclaim against the waste of life when we see Nature 

 producing from a plant or tree thousands of seeds, 

 " of which she brings but one to bear." The same 

 principle exists in the animal as in the vegetable world, 

 and its action is attended with as little pain in the one 

 case as in the other. 



In beginning the investigation of the deletion of 

 immature offspring, two problems require solution : 

 first, the method of elimination of the excess of 

 reproduction, and secondly, the method by which the 

 necessary number of young, and no more, are preserved 

 to take the place of the parents. Paulin describes 

 how an accidental circumstance put him upon the 

 track of the first problem. He possessed two cats; 

 the female from time to time showed signs of preg- 

 nancy ; suddenly she would appear lean and lank, but 

 there was never any brood. After a time and while the 

 female was pregnant the male happened to be killed, and 

 before long the female became a happy mother. This 

 made him ask, more in jest than in earnest, if this were 

 nature's method of getting rid of the excess of repro- 

 duction among the carnivora. He made further 

 enquiries as his curiosity was excited, and he found 

 that in every house where a tom-cat was tenant along 

 with a tabby, the litters were sure to be devoured by 

 the former. He also had observed and had been 

 informed that, when the female is pregnant, the male, 

 some days before parturition, follows her about per- 

 sistently wherever she goes, while often in an access 



