WHAT DO ANIMALS KNOW? 
the part of each; it is a race instinct: they must go; 
the life of the race demands it. Or when the old 
goose covers up her nest, or the rabbit covers her 
young with a blanket of hair and grass of her own 
weaving, I do not look upon these things as inde- 
pendent acts of intelligence: it is the cunning of 
nature; it is a race instinct. 
Animals, on the whole, know what is necessary 
for them to know — what the conditions of life have 
taught their ancestors through countless genera- 
tions. It is very important, for instance, that 
amphibians shall have some sense that shall guide 
them to the water; and they have such a sense. It 
is said that young turtles and crocodiles put down 
anywhere will turn instantly toward the nearest 
water. It is certain that the beasts of the field have 
such a sense much more fully developed than has 
man. It is of vital importance that birds should 
know how to fly, how to build their nests, how to 
find their proper food, and when and where to 
migrate, without instruction or example, otherwise 
the race might become extinct. 
Richard Jefferies says that most birds’-nests need 
a structure around them like a cage to keep the 
young from falling out or from leaving the nest pre- 
maturely. Now, if such a structure were needed, 
either the race of birds would have failed, or the 
structure would have been added. Since neither has 
happened, we are safe in concluding it is not needed. 
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