MENTAL POWERS OF ANIMALS. 



375 



would have been finally abandoned was not proved, for a heavy 

 storm of rain reduced it to a pulp, and in its place the egg of a 

 domestic fowl was put down, and on that the kite, now joined 

 by a male kite, who keeps careful guard over her, is still sitting. 

 The egg will be hatched in a few days, and the life of the 

 young chick, which will probably be short and adventurous, will 

 commence." 



A well-authenticated case of a dog acting as foster-mother to 

 a very young kitten has been kindly contributed to me by a 

 friend. The dog, a black-and-tan terrier, had a batch of pups, 

 which were given awav after thev were a fortnight or three weeks 



old. Very shortly after this a tabby kitten was found in the 

 street by the gentleman's children, who brought the little thing 

 home, and put it to the terrier's teats, which had become 

 enlarged and swollen in consequence of a copious supply of 

 milk. The kitten, being in a starved condition, readily took to 

 its foster-mother, but the bitch at first resented the action. She 

 seemed, however, to appreciate the relief, but would not allow 

 the kitten to suck too long. Gradually she became accustomed 

 to it, and when her teats got full of milk she used to hunt up 

 the kitten and give her a feed. The illustration shows the 

 foster-mother feeding the kitten when about two months old. 

 The kitten grew up to full size, and used to join its foster-mother 

 in her chases after other cats ! 



Dogs and a few other animals, when rebuked, undoubtedly 



