i ZOOLOGY. 427 
of which are notoriously exposed to destruction, to the nòble stag 
attired with his “ branchy crown,” rejoicing naturally in his so 
thoroughly personified gender, guarding the herd of which he is 
the monarch, or the slow, sullen buffalo, where we see the males 
‘forming an impassable cordon around the mother cows and their 
: helpless calves, when assailed by the ‘ cruel archers,” the bulls 
se bearing behind their horns the calves when wounded, to a place of 
safety. 
‘Why the young are unprovided with horns, or even the power to 
use them, is part of the great plan; and doubtless, may well be 
considered as tending to prove that at the first, the animal was 
not so protected, but slowly acquired these weapons through 
development. The early condition of the horns of the deer 
covered with smooth velvet, and unsuitable for defence, is another 
i point favoring this view, which is strongly supported by a large 
7 amount of corroborative testimony in other animals. 
Numberless facts offer themselves on this subject— the protec- 
tion of the young, and its kindred subject — the precautions 
adopted to ensure fertilization. The suddenly acquired fierce- 
_ hess of the parent when guarding its offspring is a remarkable 
_ episode in the lives of many of the lower animals. This passion, 
a frequently carried to the extreme of rendering them temporarily 
‘ regardless of personal danger when even their lives are threatened, 
can only be recognized with wondering admiration ;— too often, 
indeed, it puts our boasted human nature to the blush. This, 
after all, must be considered as the chief means of protection for 
the young animal. Though, it cannot be denied, instances are far 
isa infrequent where the parent has the proclivity to devour its 
pri 
py” Sate 
Si F 
0 
Among insects the parental instinct is often wonderful, prompt- 
ing them, not only to defend their young when attacked, but lead- 
. ing them, even in those cases where the parent’s life expires 
E ma to the full development of the progeny, to provide for 
ts future, surrounding it with a-network of moea and - cir- 
nae adapted to its melt bein — Henry 
Tue WHITE-FRONTED Ow 1N Canapa.— Although the * white- 
_ fronted owl” (Nyctale albifrons Cass.) is now conceded by most 
_ if not all American ornithologists to be the young of the saw-whet 
 (Nictale Acadica Bon.), its supposed rarity in comparison with the 
