THE BEE. 125 



the impulse). Now, does the fly at once deposit the 

 egg ? No ; it appears first to seek a substance suit- 

 able for the deposition ; and when, by the aid of its 

 smell, it finds this, it proceeds to deposit the egg upon 

 it. But now comes a difficulty. Does the insect seek 

 the particular substance, or is it attracted by that 

 substance ? for this appears to constitute the difference 

 between the theory, that instinct is an innate faculty 

 ("a faculty implanted") which impels the creature 

 to the act, and that which designates it a latent pro- 

 pensity called into operation by sensation. 



We have shown that the mere desire to deposit the 

 egg somewhere is a natural impulse, the result of sen- 

 sation ; but, proceeding now to examiue the mode in 

 which that desire is fulfilled, and judging by many 

 analogous examples, we should say that it is not the 

 result of any operation upon the senses from without, 

 so much as an impulse from within ; that the creatig-e, 

 in fact, seeks the substance on which the egg must be 

 deposited. This m^de of fulfilling the natural want 

 we call the instiuctive act, and the impidse to seek 

 the proper substance is the " instinct " implanted in 

 the creature, by which, " independent of instruction, 

 observation, and experience, and without a knowledge 

 of the end in view," it is induced or impelled to per- 

 form that act which " tends to the preservation of the 

 species." Of course, in the case of the My it is very 

 difficult to prove that the insect actually seeks the sub- 

 stance upon which to deposit the egg, rather than that 

 it is thereby attracted; for it may occur to you that 



